You Just Get Me
by Mami-21
Summary: You just get me, like I've never been gotten before.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: New story! Really looking forward to continuing it. Thanks so very much to hollywar for being my beta ;) **

**Chapter One**

"_Damn it_!"

I burst through the door of the change room, holding my head back so the blood wouldn't spill on my shirt any more than it already had. The room was blessedly empty. I headed straight to the sinks in the shower bay.

"What a _fucking idiot_."

"Who?"

Apparently, locker room was not as empty as I thought.

I caught a glimpse of Julie Gaffney in the mirror behind me.

Perfect. Just wonderful.

I lowered my head, trying to hide my nose from her view. Naturally, the blood started dripping again. "Nothing. It's fine."

"What _happened_?"

I tipped my head back again. It was too embarrassing to explain.

"Adam, what happened?"

She was right next to me now, trying to get a look at my face.

"Portman hit me, I'm fine," I muttered, too embarrassed to raise my voice.

She heard me regardless. "He hit you in the face? Why did – wait, come sit down."

I let her lead me to a bench in the locker room.

Could this day get any worse? I get nailed in the face by the biggest asshole in the school, known as my beloved moron teammate; Dean Portman. Not to mention in front of half the school. And then Julie Gaffney witnesses me bleeding from the nose.

Exactly like a dork who just got beat up.

I pinched my nose and held my head back. Julie disappeared and a second later a piece of soft, wet paper towel was pressed into my hand.

"Thanks," I muttered, holding it against my face. I closed my eyes for a few seconds to try and calm down.

It was probably too late to save face; in any meaning of the term.

She touched my shoulder lightly, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks. I'm fine," I mumbled with my eyes shut. It was easier to pretend she wasn't seeing this.

"Why did he hit you?"

She sounds worried. And confused.

"Does he need a reason? Really?"

We were both quiet for a minute.

"He can be such an asshole," Julie's soft, low voice spoke to me. "I'll talk to him."

"I don't need you to fight my battles, Julie." My voice comes out low and curt.

She's quiet.

Great, now I'm an asshole too.

"I'm sorry," I told her quietly.

I opened my eyes. Julie was watching me with concern, but her gaze flicked away.

"Is it that bad?" I squeezed experimentally. It doesn't feel broken. Bleeding's stopped.

"No, I just- I know it sucks to stared at when you're hurting."

She's the most thoughtful person, and I just bit her head off for trying to help me.

_Charming, Banks. No wonder the girls are all over you._

"I'm sorry," I repeated.

"You already said that. It's okay."

She smiled and pressed her face to my shoulder affectionately. It's so sweet and unexpected, it makes me shiver.

"You're the best, Jules."

"The best what?" she joked, pleased when I can't help a smile.

"The best girl," I explained. I feel my face flush red, but a surprised smile slowly brightens her face.

Julie Gaffney.

She's the best girl.

Makes sense.

Ever since I met her years ago, Julie has always had this quiet determination. Drive to succeed and the strength to work hard. She's intelligent and always organized. Friendly and generous with her smile. Her long, straight hair is always blonder after the summer. She has an incredibly natural, almost Nordic beauty that's all her own and impossible not to notice.

I notice her every day.

**Julie's POV**

Ok, that was a little embarrassing. Was he serious?

As I tried to think of a decent response to being named 'the best girl', Adam's eyes closed again, and he leaned against the wall with a little moan.

"What's wrong? Adam?"

"No, no, I'm okay." He looked at me again. "I'm just wondering how I'm going to explain this to my dad." He removed the blood-stained towel from his face, and I couldn't help wincing.

"There's a cut."

"Feels like."

"So... what happened?"

He sighed and shook his head. For a few seconds I thought he wasn't going to respond, but then he started talking.

"We were at the lockers, and Portman was mouthing off about Mr Hall, and how he was uptight because he couldn't get laid and hated everyone who could, or something like that. I was just behind him, and I said that he was a good teacher, and don't get pissed just because he won't grade on a scale for you," Adam explained, shaking his head a little at remembering the incident.

"And he just threw his elbow back, right into my face. No warning."

I winced again, imagining the _crack_. "Ouch."

"I can't figure it out," Adam muttered. "I don't know why he hates on me all the time."

He looked like he did know, but didn't want to share it with me.

I couldn't argue with him right now. Dean Portman was a good friend to me, but he had testosterone for blood and serious impulse control issues.

And he and Adam had just never clicked. Everyone teased everyone else in our team, it was kind of how we passed the time, but Portman could be really harsh on him sometimes.

"Don't pay attention to him, Adam. He's just jealous."

He almost choked. "Of me? Yeah, right. Everyone's jealous of me," he agreed sarcastically.

Adam was something special. He was an incredibly gifted hockey player, but modest to a fault and he was embarrassed easily when people made a fuss over him.

Despite all he had going for him, he was so quiet and serious that he could come across a little rude. Some of the guys – well, all of them - teased him that he was a rich kid and a snob at heart; but he wasn't. I knew him better then that. He was a great friend, if you could only get him talking.

He took some of the affectionate teasing that we all shared in too hard.

"Yeah, you."

I tapped his face gently towards mine, careful of his injured nose. He looked so downcast.

He needed to hear this.

"He's jealous of you. Honestly, a lot of the guys are; because you're the best player we have. That's the truth. You're smart, and you're dedicated, so you get really good grades. He doesn't. He doesn't know how to relate to you, so he tells you how much he doesn't want to be like you. He doesn't know how to be anything but the big guy, so he's just that as hard as he can be," I whispered. The locker room was so quiet and still for once, it felt like a chance to tell Adam what I couldn't tell him usually.

"Don't listen to his shit. Or anyone else's. It has more to do with them then it does with you."

**Adam's POV**

I'd never been this close to Julie.

Ever.

Her low voice was soft and soothing. It distracted me from my lame problems.

"Plus..." she continued seriously. "You're prettier than him."

We both laughed, but I didn't move away.

She didn't, either.

I gathered my courage and wrapped my arm around her shoulders lightly, resting my head on hers. She was cool and soft and comforting in my arms.

For once, the knot of tension in my stomach was gone. It was amazing to hear that she saw me differently from most people. Amazing that she'd taken the time to notice me at all.

Just listening to her quiet observations relaxed me more then I could have imagined. She didn't move away. She just leaned into me in return, and we sat together silently in the dark room.

I could've stayed there for hours.

Footsteps approached, and we both looked up.

_Go. Away._

It was nearly time for practise, and the whole team would be here within minutes, if not seconds.

"Um-"

"I better-"

"Yeah."

We moved apart. I caught Julie's hand as she turned away to go back to her locker.

"Jules? Thanks."

She flashed a quick smile at me, just before Charlie and Russ came jogging in.

"Hey, Banksie! You okay? I heard you got – ah, a nosebleed."

"Sure, I'm fine," I batted away Charlie's hand as he tried to examine my face, and then messed up my hair.

"Why the hell's it so dark in here? Who's in here?" Russ flicked on the fluorescents full beam.

"Oh, hey Cat."

Charlie looked at me with raised eyebrows, and winked with a goofy look. I could tell what he was thinking as soon as I got a glimpse of his face.

_Way to ruin a moment, guys._

**Note: Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author****'****s Note: Um, did I mention I don****'****t own these guys? Cause... I don****'****t. Glad we cleared that up. I feel we****'****re closer for this experience.**

**Gwyneth Hunter: Thanks so much for your review!**

**Hollywar: Dude, you reviewed even after you already beta****'****d this chapter ****–**** you are just the bomb! Can****'****t WAIT to see the next instalment of Somebody :)**

**Chapter Two**

Julie Gaffney was running.

Running fast, arms pumping, past the bemused faces of the few students lingering on the lawns of Eden Hall.

She had to run for the bus, because Dean Portman and Fulton Reed thought it would be hilarious to pick her up after practise, throw her over Dean's shoulder, run through the halls of their school side by side like football players chanting 'hut! hut! hut!', before depositing her in the male bathroom at the other end of the school.

'_Touchdown_!' Fulton had crowed, giving her a huge grin and devil's head hands before they both ran for it, laughing.

_Cowards._

She'd then had to walk all the way back to her dorm room to change, before realizing how late it was. And now, she was running for the bus stop at the school boundary.

To her surprise as she rounded the corner, there was another Duck there waiting.

Julie waved, catching her breath as she approached. "Hi, Adam."

"Hey..." Adam smiled as she approached. "Out for a jog?"

"No," Julie stopped, leaning her hands on her hips. "Bus. You?"

"Same," Adam dug into his pocket as the bus approached. "Ah, two," he requested of the driver as they climbed aboard.

Julie smiled, surprised as Adam handed her a ticket. "Thanks..." she slid into the seat beside him, heaving a sigh as she rested back against the vinyl. A 90-minute practice followed by a sprint through the grounds of Eden Hall made it a relief to sit down.

Even nicer to have Adam to share the bus trip with.

Julie took a hair band from her satchel, holding it in her teeth as she gathered her loose blonde hair up into a messy bun. "Ere oo 'oin?" she asked Adam, turning to him. Poor guy. He'd grown even more over summer and was now so tall, his knees were pushed up into the seat in front.

Adam smiled slowly. "Sorry?"

Julie laughed at herself as she wrapped the band around her hair. "Where are you going?" she tried again.

"Just town. Got to grab a few things with my dad. Then home."

"Oh, cool," Julie smiled brightly. "I thought you drove?"

"Dad's got the car." He actually had his own, but the rules about driving it seemed to change by the day.

Julie seemed genuinely pleased to see him. It was nice.

He cleared his throat, glancing up cautiously. "Ah... where are you headed?"

"Yoga class," Julie stretched her arms over her head.

He couldn't help but snicker. "What, cause you really needed another sport or…?"

Julie giggled back. In addition to hockey, she ran track and worked out several times a week.

"I know, I know. I need something low-impact. I heard it's great for flexibility, relaxation..." she shrugged, sliding her sunglasses on. "Can't hurt to try. You should come."

She flashed Adam a big, mischievous smile under the large frames of her sunglasses.

"Okay," he replied.

Julie cocked her head. "Huh? Really?"

"No, not really."

She laughed and hit his arm playfully.

It was almost like a reward, now he'd relaxed a little and started to talk with her so easily.

"Killer practise," she noted.

"Yeah, for sure. Did you train much over summer?"

Julie lowered her sunglasses to reveal wide, wounded green eyes. "What are you saying?" she asked quietly.

Adam jumped. "No, no! I just – I was just wondering-"

He stopped as her frown turned slowly into a smile.

"That was mean, Jules." He couldn't help a chuckle.

"You're laughing."

"I'm laughing to hide my pain."

She giggled at that. "Sorry." She patted his arm contritely. "I didn't play much, to be honest. Well, only a couple times a week. I spent the whole summer swimming and hiking with my dad, mostly..."

Adam's heart jumped a little when she touched him. It was almost surreal to have Julie's undivided company to himself for a few minutes.

He hadn't really spoken to her since their talk in the locker room. She was always surrounded by friends, and he'd thrown himself back into training.

He realized Julie was staring at him expectantly.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"What did you do?" Julie repeated patiently. "Over the summer."

"Uh. I trained."

They both laughed as the bus stopped and they stood to exit.

Julie stepped down from the bus, a little disappointed the ride had seemed so short. They hadn't talked since that day in the locker room, and now they'd barely had time at all.

She looked up at Adam as he got off the bus. "So..." she swung herself from side to side. "What are you doing later? Want to grab a milkshake after you and your dad are done? My class only goes 40 minutes." She gestured to the older building down the street that housed yoga and Pilates classes.

_Yes, definitely. I__'__d love to. See you then. Can I watch your class?_

Adam bit his lip. _Dream on._

"I don't think so... I don't know how long we'll be," he explained reluctantly.

"Oh, sure. Another time. See you, Banks." Julie smiled up brightly and waved as she walked away.

…

Julie rolled her neck as the class filed out of the building. Yoga had been amazing. She could feel the benefits already.

Although she was ready to drop dead from exhaustion.

"Hey..."

She looked over, confused as to who would be waiting for her. She was happy to see Adam was waiting for her outside the building, hands stuck in his pockets.

"Oh, hey!" Julie smiled wide, pleased. "Long time no see."

"Yeah... um, you still got time for that shake?"

"Uh-huh."

They started walking, towards the food outlets that lined the street.

Julie tugged her ponytail tighter, only realizing now how sweaty and gross she must look.

"You guys must be good shoppers... you didn't take long at all."

"Dad stood me up," Adam admitted with a shrug. "I just hung out, and then... your class was over."

"He stood you up? For forty minutes?"

Adam shrugged again, shaking his head resignedly. "He runs on PBT."

"What's that?" Julie asked, her eyebrows knitting together as she tried to think of what he meant.

"Phillip Banks Time."

Julie laughed. He liked making her laugh.

She reached into her purse as they reached the counter of the shop. "I think I'll get a smoothie. Mango, please," she ordered to the waiting teenager behind the counter.

"I've got it." Adam took out his wallet.

"No, I can pay." Julie pushed his hand away. "My treat."

"Jules..."

"What? You paid for the bus." Julie paid for her smoothie and Adam's fresh juice, sending him a challenging look as she handed the cup to him.

Adam looked again at his wallet uncomfortably.

"Let it go, Adam." Julie advised with a slight smile, as they sat down at a small table outside. "Other people carry cash too. They even let girls do it these days. Weird, huh?" she smiled teasingly as she sipped her drink.

"I'm sorry – I didn't mean to insult you. I'm just..."

"Used to paying for everyone else?" Julie guessed quietly.

"I guess. I don't mind. It's just money."

"Exactly," she tapped her cup to his. "Cheers."

He smiled back, finally, and toasted her before he relaxed back into his chair.

There was his dad, pulling up in front of Footlocker across the street.

"_Shit_."

"What?" Julie glanced over her shoulder, alarmed.

"Hold on a sec." Adam jumped up and jogged across the road.

"Hey," he panted nervously, stopping in front of his father's window.

"Where were you? I told you to wait outside."

Phillip Banks _hated _to be kept waiting.

"I was just getting something to drink. You forgot me."

"I told you to be here at five."

"No, you said four-" Adam started to protest.

"That's enough. We're late now as it is. We won't have time to get your sneakers. Where's your bag?" Phillip rustled for his phone. "Grab it, we're leaving."

"It's with my friend," Adam snapped back before he jogged back over to Julie.

There was no point in trying to explain any of this to his father. He wouldn't get it, or care.

Julie was still seated when he got back. She gave him a welcoming smile.

_Man, you__'__re pretty._

"I'm sorry, Julie, I've gotta go," he explained, regretfully. He'd much rather stay here, just where they were. With her.

"Oh. That's okay, I better get going too." But he noticed her face fell a little. She glanced over her shoulder. "That's your dad?"

"Yeah..." Adam collected his backpack, leaving the juice on the table. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I should be getting back for dinner anyway." Julie gathered her things, and surprised Adam by walking him back to his father's car.

"Um, dad – you remember Julie?" Adam hovered at the passenger door, indicating Julie next to him.

Phillip made no reply, reading from his pager.

"Dad?" Adam asked louder.

"Yes, what? Are you ready now?" Phillip's gaze landed on his son.

"This is Julie. You remember? From my team?" Adam gestured to the blonde standing beside him.

"Hi, Mr Banks," Julie smiled and waved politely.

Phillip glanced at her dismissively.

"Oh, yes. Adam, in the car now, we've got to get moving if I'm going to make this dinner. You'll have to make do with your old sneakers until I have time to take you shopping again."

Adam stared at the footpath, embarrassed beyond belief.

"Hey," he felt a light touch on his arm. Julie was smiling her sweet smile up at him, seemingly ignoring how crazy rude his dad had just been to her. "I'm gonna go, okay? I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you," Adam replied softly. He opened the door and slid into the car slowly, watching Julie walk away in the rear-view mirror.

Seventeen, and he wasn't trusted to pick out his own shoes.

"Dial Ron on my cell," Phillip ordered as they pulled away into traffic.

"I wanted to offer her a ride." Adam stared into his lap.

"Who?"

"Julie. My friend? Outside? It would have been nice of us to offer her a ride home. She'll have to get the bus. " He knew his father was insensitive; but this was a whole new level of low. Even for him.

"Who's she? Why are you hanging around the streets with some girl? Is that why you were late?"

"No-" Adam bit his tongue in frustration. "You've met her so many times! She's on the team. She's our goalie!"

_A very good one, at that. _

He was determined to make his dad realize that other people in the world existed.

That Julie existed.

Phillip considered. "The girl who got kicked out of a game for fighting?"

Of course, of all the hockey matches he'd played alongside Julie, his dad in the crowd for each and every one - that was the game he remembered; way back in LA.

His father just had such a knack for seeing the best in everyone.

"That was-" Adam realized it was pointless. He'd never won an argument yet. "Never mind."

Phillip fixed his son with a long-suffering look. "I don't have time to drive your friends around, Adam. I spent enough time waiting for you outside some goddamn shoe store. Are you done?"

"Yes." Adam slumped low in his seat.

"Well, get that number dialled."

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**hollywar: Thanks for all your encouragement and your thoughtful critique, you're a doll.**

**Gwyneth Hunter: Thanks again for your kind words, hope you enjoy the new chapter. About to get crackin' on Chapter Four, where we really get rolling...**

**Everyone who read the first and second chapters, but couldn't find their way to the review button: It's at the bottom of the page, right after the story, so y'know, feel free to chime in with your thoughts :P  
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**Chapter Three**

"You know, your eyes are just... amazing." Luis smiled his most endearing smile at Julie.

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

"Some people are as beautiful inside as they are on the outside, and I can tell, you are one of those people."

Julie shrugged carelessly.

"No? Okay. Ah..." he inched closer, stroked her hand with a fingertip. "Y'know-"

"Do not touch me," she said without a trace of pity.

"Yeah, I get that a lot too. Sorry."

He removed his hand.

"Better." Julie hid a smile.

"Did it hurt? When you fell... from..." Luis's face fell at Julie's amused expression. "No good? Shee-it..." he sighed.

"More sincere. Be yourself!" Julie encouraged.

"This _is_ myself!" Luis rolled his eyes in exasperation.

The two were sitting at the end of the Duck table in the cafeteria. Julie had actually agreed to let Luis practise pick-up lines on her over lunch, but she was not much help.

In fact, he had the feeling she was laughing at him.

Julie picked up her paper cup of vegetable soup and blew the steam off, casually surveying the cafeteria. All their teammates were chatting loudly around them, scarfing down lunch, arguing, laughing. The usual Duck lunchtime scenario.

All except for a couple of notable exceptions.

"Hey, you look a little worried. Is something bothering you? Anything I can do?"

Julie surveyed Luis sceptically. Despite his tragic pick-ups, which worked more often than they really should, Luis had had plenty of relationship experience. Maybe he could provide some insight, without getting too specific. She finally smiled, glancing down. "Well, maybe. I sort of-"

"Wait, that's it? Really?" Luis jumped to his feet, holding up his hands defensively against listening to Julie's problems. "What'd I say? _Hey, you look a little worried_..." he repeated to himself as he jogged away.

Julie rolled her eyes. No good deed went unpunished.

"Hey."

She looked up, and her mild annoyance at Luis's quick departure turned to appreciation. Adam was balancing a tray, smiling shyly at her. And there was now one empty chair at the table, right across from hers.

"Hey!" she couldn't help beaming up, patting the table invitingly. "Sit?"

"Sure." Adam claimed the seat quickly, as if worried someone would throw themself across the table and take it before he could.

**Adam's POV**

Sometimes, when a particularly good moment happens to me, I store it away in my mind so I can replay it later.

Like Julie's huge smile when she saw me, calling me to sit with her.

"How are you?" I asked as I settled down.

"I'm really good. How're you?"

She smiled up at me. She was dressed in a nice blue shirt that fit her just perfect. Her hair was loose over her shoulders, but pulled back from her face. Tiny silver earrings in her ears.

In other words, completely gorgeous.

I knew she was just being friendly, but it still warmed me from the inside out to have that smile directed my way. Because when she smiles, and those green eyes light up, it's like she's really happy to see me.

"Yeah, great."

She arched a brow at my lunch tray. It does look a little bare. One wholegrain salad roll and a bottled water.

"Very healthy... aww, no fries? I was totally going to steal one," she complained with a tease in her voice.

"Want me to get you some?" I asked in all seriousness.

She giggled a little. "No... I'm fine. Just kidding. Where've you been?"

"Just talking to Coach. Practice times... Dad's issue of the day."

I didn't mean to add the last part, but she just nodded slowly in understanding and didn't push the subject.

"Yo."

Fulton stopped just behind Julie's chair, sans his usual partner in crime.

"Hey..." Julie glanced up. She noticed the lack of Portman and raised an inquiring eyebrow.

Fulton shook his head. "Where do you think?" he asked her, sounding a little exasperated.

"Right," she sighed, rolling her eyes quickly. "What'd he do?"

"Tell ya later, alright?" Fulton saluted us and went to sit with Charlie.

So Portman was in detention, obviously. And if Fulton didn't want to discuss it in front of the crowd, it was something worse than Portman's usual 'hilarious' stunts.

I knew Julie was friends with Dean, real friends, in spite of what a dick he was to everyone else. All of the out-of-towner Ducks had their own rapport that I assumed came from leaving their own hometowns and living in close proximity in the dorms. Jules was particularly tight with Russ and Kenny. I didn't have a problem with either those guys.

Unfortunately, Portman took this kind of possessive interest in her, like because they lived on the same campus he had some kind of right to throw an arm around her for no reason, or flick her hair off her shoulder, try to get her to play-fight him or any of a dozen other bullshit excuses to mess with her.

Why did Fulton have to tell Julie about him? So they were friends. That didn't mean he was her problem.

I played with my food. "Um... how'd you do with the math quiz?"

"Okay, I think." Julie's attention was back to me swiftly. That was nice. "Once I had the first few problems figured, they all went mostly the same, right?"

"Same," I agreed. "I wasn't sure about the last one, but I think I did alright on the rest."

"Course you did."

This time, I smiled at her.

"Banks!" Charlie was waving from two seats down the table. He'd been trying to catch my eye, and I had been trying to ignore him. "Hey there, buddy. So you're coming Friday, right?"

"Ah... I'm not sure."

Friday was a school dance, and all I could hear all day was people talking about who was going with who and what they were wearing and all the typical Eden Hall drama.

Honestly, I'd rather stay home and go to the gym, arena, study... anything.

"You should, man, it'll be a blast. We're arranging an, uh... alternate playlist."

Fulton grinned next to Charlie and gave me a thumbs-up. Apparently there would be a little Metallica appearing on the Eden Hall song list this year, next to the traditional Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys that tended to accompany these events.

Well, that might actually be worth seeing.

Charlie leaned towards me. "Have you _invited anyone_?" he inquired in an overly polite tone.

_Smooth, Conway_.

I just shook my head, meeting his eyes innocently. "Nope."

"Huh. _Maybe_ you should."

_Maybe_ he should just strip off and streak through the cafeteria with a sign saying ADAM WANTS JULIE. That would probably be more subtle. I sent him a filthy look, and he raised his hands innocently, smirking.

Luckily, Connie had Julie's attention across the table. I think she was trying to convince her that she needed new clothes for the dance, but Julie was holding out. I watched them as discreetly as I could. Their arguments are usually entertaining. Connie's persistent to the point of obsession, but Julie has such composure that it's hard for Connie to fluster her into compliance.

"Why not?" Connie wheedled, pouting as prettily as she could. What, was she going to flirt her into obedience? Somehow, I didn't think that particular trick would work on Jules.

"Because my sandals still fit, and they'll be fine with whatever I wear," Julie explained patiently.

"Well, I still need you to come with me," Connie told her firmly. "Because I need your opinion, and who knows, you might find something you like..."

"I'll come with you, but I'm not buying new stuff." Julie catches my eye and smiles. "We'll go tomorrow, okay? Okay. Looking forward to it."

Connie sighed and then shrugged, turning away. "Oh alright..."

I would bet a thousand dollars that Julie wasn't getting off that easily.

She reached over and stole the tomato from my salad roll.

"Hey!"

"Well, next time maybe you'll get the fries." She popped the tomato in her mouth daintily.

I laughed a little, picking up the roll protectively. "Guess I will. So I might get to eat something."

"Sorry," she giggled, giving me a mock-contrite look.

_Cute_.

"So, um... you're going to this thing on Friday?"

"Yeah, I think so. I mean, you know I have the moves." She grinned at me.

I knew what she meant. Julie actually seems to enjoy school dances. She and Connie dance with all us Ducks who are willing. She's very coordinated on the dance floor. I... not so much.

Last time I went to a school event, she danced with Portman to a Tupac song. They looked great together.

Guess he had the moves, too.

"How 'bout you?" she asked.

"I guess. Maybe." I studied my roll. "Are you going with anyone?" I asked, trying to keep my voice light.

She didn't answer until I looked up.

"Not really. Russ said he'd go with me if his other options didn't work out, and that way we'd both have a date and not be lonely losers." She smiled and played with the empty packaging on her tray.

"You're not a loser," I know my disapproval shows in my voice.

Julie looked a little surprised. "I know, Adam – he was just kidding around. I say the same stuff to him, it's all good." She patted my hand reassuringly.

_Nice work_. Once again, I miss the point. But I just don't like anyone telling Julie she's their backup option.

She ducked her head, inching closer. "But anyway, I thought I'd ask you," she continued softly.

_What?_

My head shot up. She met my eyes with her usual serene composure; chin resting on her palm, but there's something else in her clear gaze.

Just a tiny hint of nervousness.

I don't know how to reply, in case I get it wrong again.

She let go of my arm. "Um... I thought I'd ask you, because it might be fun... if you want a friend to go with..."

_Speak, Adam. Speak. Speak. NOW!_

"Yeah – uh, yes, I would like to. Yeah, that'd be great. Definitely."

_STOP. SPEAKING!_

"Ok, great." Julie nodded firmly. "So we'll go."

"We'll go," I managed to agree. "I'll..."

"Meet me outside the dorms?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll do that."

She checked the slim watch on her wrist. I knew lunch was nearly over.

And I wasn't ready to give her up just yet.

"Uh... walk you to class?" I jumped up on a whim, grabbed Julie's bag off the back of her chair and slung it over my shoulder.

"Oh!" she smiled up at me, a little surprised, pushing her chair back. "Sure. Thanks."

I can tell Connie sees us leaving together, because I hear a slow, dramatic gasp behind us as we walk away through the throng of crowded tables.

For once, I couldn't care less about what they're all saying.

**Note: Hang in there, for the real action starts up next chapter. Please review! I appreciate all feedback :D**


	4. Chapter 4

Note: I don't own the Ducks. Song lyrics are 'Everlong' by Foo Fighters, copyright to the f'n genius Dave Grohl, and I definitely, absolutely, one hundred percent do NOT own those. Don't sue me, Dave, you have enough of my cash from album and ticket sales already. I just wanted to scatter them in here because to me, Everlong is the soundtrack to that scary and beautiful feeling of your first love.

**Friday evening**

**Julie's POV**

I actually did it. I can't believe it.

I asked Adam out, and he accepted.

I think – maybe - he might have asked me to the dance, anyway.

Maybe.

But he's crazy shy. And I didn't want to take the chance that, once again, I would be hanging out with the guys all night, trying to entertain myself dancing to lame tunes, and Adam would have better things to do.

One whole evening together - I couldn't wait.

I was so relieved, I felt like spinning around and around in the hallways of the school that day.

But I managed to contain myself, because I didn't want to be taken away by the men in the little white coats before our date.

We've been getting to know each other a little better lately. When we have to pair up in the classes we have together, we turn to each other first. Adam's a great study partner. Intelligent, well spoken. He listens to me. Really listens; like he values my opinion. And he has these intense blue eyes. A strong blue, not the greyish blue so many blondes have. Real blue.

When we're sitting close together and he looks straight into my eyes, sometimes I lose my train of thought.

And then I think I'd like to know him even better.

Although I always seemed to end up with someone to accompany me to social gatherings – after all, I lived next to some of my closest friends - I'd never 'gone somewhere' with Adam.

He usually attended our team events, the street games on weekends and birthday parties and stuff, but he seemed to have better things to do once an event was bigger than our immediate group.

He pretty much never brought a date, either.

I know that's how some of the nastier rumors about him started.

Contrary to popular opinion, guys are the biggest gossips. The guys on our team are even worse than most. They love a good conspiracy theory. And they love tormenting Adam.

Some of it's just good-natured teasing, we all get our share. But I think, with Adam, some of it's payback, for the way he makes his hockey game look so effortless. It's not effortless, of course. No one gets that good without working their ass off. I've seen how many hours he puts in training. I don't think anyone could train that much voluntarily if they didn't enjoy it. The constant preparation is one thing, but that natural, easy style, the way he moves on the ice, like he knows he's in total control and no one can touch him?

That's just Adam. No amount of training can give someone talent like that.

He's going to go far, and it's obvious. And in the competitive environment we live in; people are going to get weird about it.

If he stood up for himself, they'd back off. He's like six feet of long, lean muscle. It's not like I haven't noticed. But he just ducks his head and stays silent and I know, I can see, he takes too much of it on himself and locks it away inside.

That day in the locker room was one of the rare times I've ever seen Adam angry.

I'm glad he was. You can't talk to a brick wall. And I'm glad he opened up to me a little.

And now, it was Friday, and instead of musing over Adam Banks, I should be getting ready to meet him.

_Hello.  
><em>

_Well, I've waited here for you.  
><em>

_Everlong..._

I was in my dorm room, listening to the Foo Fighters playing on my little clock radio. I had about twenty minutes before I was due to meet Adam. I usually just wore my good jeans to school dances, but I'd decided to dress up a little and go for a long skirt with my current favourite top. It was a white cotton tank on front, but the back was made of silky lace in a beautiful green and gold pattern. My aunt had brought it back for me from Thailand. I felt exotic in that shirt. I decided to put my hair up to show it off better. My lucky earrings – little silver droplets. I added a little mascara, a touch of lip gloss. I smacked my lips slowly and surveyed myself in the mirror.

I was way, _way_ too excited for just a school dance.

Someone knocked on the door.

_Adam!_

No, it wouldn't be Adam, I scolded myself at the burst of eager anticipation. It was too early.

I opened the door.

"Hi!"

It was Adam. He looked great in chinos and a dark gray T-shirt.

One look at his face, though, and I knew something was wrong. He stared down at the floor.

"Hi. I'm sorry. I can't take you tonight." His voice was so quiet; I could barely make him out.

My stomach dropped and I felt like I'd been slapped in the face.

"Oh – what-" I stammered, gripping the doorframe.

He took a step back, took a second to really look at me properly. "I'm sorry," he repeated softly, turned on his heel and walked away fast, head down.

**Friday afternoon**

**Adam's POV**

"Adam!"

I jogged downstairs to say goodbye to Mom and Dad in the front hall before they left for the evening. My mom kept busy doing her charity stuff mostly, but she also had a little part-time job at her best friend's interior design firm as a 'decorating consultant.' Therefore, they had to attend lots of boozy dinner parties in the name of work.

"Bye, guys." I gave Mom an impulsive kiss on the cheek.

Mom chuckled, looking pleased, but Dad didn't look as amused

"Your mother is not a 'guy', as I remember. Now, listen, we'll be back late. I'd like to think you'll be in bed by ten. Okay?"

"Sure." I was quite happy to let my father think that.

In fact, not much could spoil my mood right now.

"Your brother dropped off those cartons in the garage earlier, so that'll keep you occupied once you've done your homework."

"It's done. Actually, I'm going to head back over to school. There's this thing tonight... I'm meeting some of the guys. Uh... which cartons are those?"

I could've asked Dad about the dance earlier. He'd seemed in a good mood, even letting me drive him home from the office. But it was risky, because I never knew when I was in for a lecture about priorities. Better to keep casual.

"The wine," Dad answered as if that explained everything, holding out Mom's coat for her. "There's quite a few boxes, and they need them for tomorrow. I doubt you'll have time to go out."

I shoved my hands in my pockets and searched my memory, coming up blank. What wine? I looked at Mom for help. She shook her head uncomprehendingly.

"The wine!" Dad prompted impatiently. "You promised Jon you'd help him label some wine bottles. He explained it to you very clearly on the phone."

Right. I came up with a vague memory of Dad handing me the phone during one of his long conversations with my older brother. Jonathan was studying business management at college, and interning at a big function production company. I remembered now, Jon asking if I could help him out with some grunt work, and earn a little extra money.

I didn't need extra money for anything, but I'd agreed right away to help him out. I'd probably just stash the money until I needed it.

"Oh, right. I know. That wine label thing. I... might have to do that tomorrow."

"They're picking them up tomorrow. You can do them tonight. Jon left instructions on the table for you." Dad picked up his keys with an air of finality.

I picked up the indicated papers and trailed after my parents to the door, stomach sinking. This couldn't take too long, right? I flicked through the bundle of papers. The first sheet was a short typed note, the rest were all customized labels. A lot of labels. "Wait – how much is there to do?"

I was meeting Julie in just over an hour.

"I don't remember. Go and look." Dad paused at the door and gave me his don't-be-painful-son look. "This needs to be done by the morning, Adam. No excuses. "

"Yeah, but – I didn't know it would be tonight. I have plans. I've made a commitment."

"You made a commitment to your brother. I told you about this on Monday. I can't help if it coincides with something else. You shouldn't make plans to go out without checking with me, you know that."

He's getting pissed now, but he has to understand that tonight, of all nights, I'm already booked.

"But I swear I didn't know it was tonight. It's only at school. And I've got to meet - someone."

I wasn't officially forbidden from dating or anything. It was just that Dad didn't approve of wasting time on 'distractions'. And he thought I was way too easily distracted as it was.

"Jon's counting on you to help him out with this. That's what having a work ethic means, you need to do it whether or not it's convenient to your social life. I expect these cartons to be ready 9am tomorrow."

"Dad -I can't! I really can't."

I know I sound like a little kid to him, but I'm getting desperate.

"You can, actually, and you will. You don't, and you'll let Jon down. You understand me, son?"

Why did I just waste more time arguing? I closed my eyes in defeat and let out a slow sigh, calculating how long it might take to get finished here before the dance.

"Son?" His voice is sharp.

"Yeah – okay, I'll take care of it," I promised wearily. Dad looked barely appeased. "I'll get it done on time," I reassured him. "Don't worry. It'll be done."

He eyed me for a second, deciding whether it was safe to believe me or whether he should stand over me with a flaming whip and pitchfork until the job was done to his satisfaction.

Waiting in the car, Mom leant over to give the horn a little beep.

"Well... make sure you do a good job. And try to get to bed early, hmm?" He hurried to the car. Mom waved as they drove out the gates of our driveway.

I raised my hand slowly in return. As soon as they were gone, I raced through the house to the inner garage door.

It couldn't be that bad. A few cartons, a few labels...

I flicked on the light.

"_Oh_, _shit_."

I closed my eyes to try to block out the sickening image.

Then opened them again.

And... they were still there.

Over two dozen neatly stacked cartons of wine awaited me and me alone.

It would take hours to label every bottle. Even if I started right away, there was no way I'd make it back to campus on time.

I walked around the huge stack slowly, running a hand over the boxes in disbelief.

_Tonight? Really?_

Not any other night this week, when I'd had nothing but study and practise to fill my evenings?

For a second, I thought about just walking out. But I couldn't do that to Jon. Jon took his internship really seriously. No doubt he'd have given Dad plenty of notice, and Dad had just assumed his youngest son would have nothing better to do on a Friday evening then to hang out in the garage all night, labelling _two fucking dozen_ cartons of wine.

The problem was, usually, he'd be right.

But not tonight.

I leaned back against the cold brick of the garage wall.

There was no way out of it.

This was my shot for a real date with Julie, and I'd screwed it up before it even began.

_Game over, thanks for playing, please return to your regular scheduled pathetic life._

And not only would I miss out on spending the evening with Jules, I'd let her down too. Everyone knew we were going together. Cancelling on someone half an hour before the fact was standing them up, no matter how you looked at it.

She'd have to walk in alone and face the stares.

Well, no doubt someone like Julie wouldn't be kept lonely for long.

I growled in frustration, rubbed my hands hard over my face. No magical solution popped out of the stack of wine cartons, so I went back to the hall closet and grabbed

my own car keys.

It wasn't much, but the least I could do was apologize in person.

**Thanks for reading. Leave me your thoughts :)**


	5. Chapter 5

'**Everlong' Lyrics belong to Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl in particular. Don't own those, don't own Ducks. **

**Julie's POV**

I had a couple of choices here.

I could slam the door and burst into furious tears, and I have to admit, it was tempting. I'd been so looking forward to tonight.

But I'm not a crier. And I'm not a quitter.

I just wanted to know why he looked so upset.

Dammit - I had no shoes on.

I watched as Adam paused for a second at the end of the hall, and then kept walking outside.

I hastily jammed my feet in my sandals and hurried out after him.

'Adam, wait!'

I caught him up outside and grabbed his arm to slow him down.

'Geez, Banks, hold up a second, will you? I can't run in these shoes.'

**Adam's POV**

To my surprise, Julie caught up to me just outside the girls' dorms.

She had to look totally delectable, too. Her white top set off the warm glow of her skin. And I _love_ her hair up. Sexy and elegant.

_Brilliant move, stopping by to see exactly what I'll be missing out on._

I stopped, folded my arms and hung my head. 'Look, I'm sorry, ok,' I muttered. 'I didn't-'

'Please stop apologizing!'

I looked up and somehow Julie's smiling just a little.

'Where are you going in such a rush? Why can't you come tonight?' she asked curiously, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

'I just – I have some work to do for Jon, and I didn't realize it had to be done tonight. It's going to take forever. I'm really-'

'Sorry. I know.' She nodded sadly.

We stood for a few seconds in silence.

'I really am – I know you don't want to hear it again, but I couldn't help it,' I explained slowly. 'I feel like a jerk, I don't blame you if you hate me.'

Julie shrugged. 'Why? I'm just annoyed you can't come,' she replied simply. 'I was looking forward to making you dance.'

I smiled a little at that, despite my foul mood. 'Sounds like I dodged a bullet.'

'You really can't come? At all?'

'I have to label every bottle in over twenty cases of wine before tomorrow morning.'

'Really?' She frowned. 'Ouch.'

'Yeah.'

Jules smiled wryly, hugging herself. 'It's not an excuse to ditch me, right?'

'No.' I met her eyes earnestly. 'Not at all.'

She nodded slowly. 'Wait just a minute... 'kay?' she asked, tilting her head.

I waited as requested, as she went back inside. A minute later, she jogged back out with her coat on.

'Ready to go?' she smiled, catching my hand and pulling me towards the car park.

'I – what?'

Julie stopped dead, so I nearly walked into her. Tilted her head back to meet my eyes.

'I asked you to go with me tonight,' she explained slowly. 'I didn't say where we were going.' She gave my hand the tiniest squeeze and a little dimple appeared in her cheek. 'You're my date. I'm with you.'

I stared at Julie blankly, unable to believe she was willing to skip the whole evening in favour of hanging out in a garage with me.

'Are you sure? You'll miss the dancing – you should go and have a good time...' I gestured towards in the direction of the auditorium. I knew she'd been looking forward to tonight.

'It wouldn't be as much fun without you.' She shrugged one shoulder, holding my gaze steadily with beautiful, determined green eyes.

She was serious. She was actually ditching the whole dance, so I wouldn't be alone.

I smiled finally, leaning down a little. 'You realize we'll only be hanging out in my garage,' I warned.

'I'm hoping there'll be pizza,' she whispered back confidentially.

I laughed. It felt natural to slide my arm around her shoulders as we started walking towards the car park to my car, together.

Five minutes ago, I was so pissed off and frustrated I could barely speak.

Now, I took a deep breath of fresh air and noticed for the first time what a beautiful clear night it was.

'Do you need to let anyone know?' I asked Jules, glancing down.

She shook her head. 'Nah. Connie knows I'll be with you. She won't worry.' She glanced at me sideways. 'But she will probably gossip.'

Tonight, I did not mind whatsoever. Connie could tell the world that Jules was with me. We reached the car and I let her go reluctantly to unlock the passenger door for her.

'If Guy brings a date, though, we're probably safe,' I pointed out once we were both in the car.

'Oh, definitely, ' Julie snickered as we both pictured Connie ignoring Guy as pointedly as possible. That would take her several hours to accomplish, with the proper technique applied. 'So, um... what exactly did you say we're doing tonight?'

'Labelling wine. There's all these blank wine bottles to stick special labels on, for this charity dinner or something.' I looked over at her as we buckled in. 'You don't have todo anything, though. I'll do it, you can just...'

Jules raised an eyebrow. 'Kick back and watch you work? Sure, sounds good. Hey, do I get some wine while I'm relaxing?' she smiled teasingly.

I raised my hands. 'Just saying... you only have to help if you really want to.'

'Well, I want to,' she told me decisively. 'Then we'll be done in half the time.'

_Good point._

'Wow, your car's really...' she looked around the interior for the first time. 'Um, new.'

It _was_ new. It still smelled new. Dad had looked at a lot of cars for my seventeenth birthday. I'd finally been given a top of the line Jeep Cherokee because Jon had pointed out I needed the room for all my hockey equipment. I think Dad would have preferred something fancier, because a colleague of his had a son my age who drove a BMW.

Most days, the Cherokee lived in the garage, or sometimes Dad dropped me off and took it to work. Rarely, I got to drive it around town. I'd taken it to school exactly twice. Fulton had commented it was 'very Sweet Valley High'. I hadn't been brave enough to ask, but I'd sort of wondered how he knew that.

'Yeah, Dad drove it off the lot.'

'I mean - it's nice. Wow.' She leaned over to inspect the stereo as I drove us out of the parking lot. 'You're lucky to have such a nice car to learn on. Most people don't trust their kids with anything but a bomb.'

'I don't get to drive it much. It's... more the stay-at-home type.' I pressed a couple buttons on the console and warm air flooded out from the vents. It was getting dark outside and Julie had her little strappy sandals on. Nice, but not at all warm.

She settled back in her leather seat and smiled up at me. I could tell she knew why I'd turned the heat on. 'This is comfy,' she said quietly.

I smiled back at her as I turned out of the Eden Hall drive.

Julie played with the radio a little, finding us a decent station. The soft music washed over us, as I drove home with her in the warm, dark car and I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt this good.

_And I wonder,_

_When I sing along with you...__  
><em>

_If everything could ever feel this real forever,__  
><em>

_If anything could ever be this good again..._

'Did it take you long?' Julie asked, turning to look at me. 'Learning to drive?'

I shook my head. 'No, it's easy once you get the idea of how the car moves.' I wiggled the wheel a little to demonstrate. 'Just physics, really.'

'You're a good driver.'

I couldn't help but be pleased. 'Thanks. I'll, um - I can teach you if you like.'

'Really?' she asked, surprised. 'I'd love that.'

I looked over. 'Definitely.'

'That'd be great.' Julie settled back, folding her hands in her lap as she watches out the window. It's the first time she's ever been to my house. I'm a little nervous. I don't know why, I know that by most standards it's considered a beautiful house. It's just... kind of huge for just the three of us.

I opened the gates with the remote control as we approached the house, and parked the car neatly back in the garage, next to the monster pile of boxes.

'Oh, hell.' Julie blinked out her window at the cartons. 'That is a lot of wine.'

I climbed out and opened her door. 'I tried to warn you...' I told her, only half-kidding.

She took my hand to step down from the Jeep, and I finally got a good look at her from head to toe. Her long skirt skimmed her slim legs, and I noticed as she stepped down that it was slit up one side.

'You look... really nice. By the way.'

Julie walked past me to take a careful survey of the cartons. 'Oh, this is what I always wear to label wine,' she said nonchalantly, hands on hips.

I snickered and folded my arms. 'Is that right?'

'Yep.' Jules looked back at me, and I have to smile, because she's seen the enemy and she had her game face on, ready to tackle the pile of boxes. 'Let's do this.'

**Julie's POV**

The car radio was playing softly in the background as Adam cut open a new carton. He'd found some leftover carpet pieces in storage and laid them down to make sitting on the concrete floor a little more comfortable for us. The pile of boxes was slowly diminishing. We had a good system going – Adam would open each box, handed me the bottles one by one, I'd smooth a label onto each one carefully and he'd stack it back in.

It was easy, monotonous work.

I _loved_ it, because for once, we had all the time in the world to just sit and talk. About school, our team, Adam's family. He wanted to know all about my life back in Maine.

'What'd your mom think? When you started playing hockey?' he asked, replacing the bottle I'd just labelled in the carton.

I shrugged. 'Well, she wasn't really around then. She lived in Hawaii for a while when I was about nine.'

'Wow. Did you ever go?'

'To Hawaii? No.' I looked up at the ceiling, wondering how to explain. 'Um... you know I don't live with my mom, she lives in Chicago with her...' I was about to say _new _

_family, _but that sounded so dramatic. 'With Robert and their sons.'

'Right...'

I shrugged again. 'She wasn't really around when I was growing up, either. It was just me and Dad.'

'Oh.' Adam looked up sharply. 'I didn't know that.'

I smiled a little. Usually, just saying my mother lived in Chicago with her husband sounded vague and boring enough to put off any further questions. 'I never really told you. It's no big thing.' I picked up another bottle, concentrating on putting the label on perfectly. 'She had some mental health issues, I guess, some personal problems, and she decided it was better for me if she wasn't around,' I stated matter-of-fact, nodding. 'So she and Dad broke up when I was little.'

That was the way my dad had explained it to me. It wasn't something I thought about much - I'd never needed anyone but my dad. We were happy together, our own little family of two. To me, 'Mom' was just someone I spoke to on the phone, like my aunt Janice or Grandma and Da. We didn't have much in common, but it was nice that she made the effort to call and she always seemed pleased when I had something new happening or straight A's on my report card.

So was Dad, for that matter. Otherwise, the relationships with my parents were worlds apart.

Adam sat back on his heels, taking that in. 'I see. And you're... okay with it?' he asked carefully.

'Yeah.' I thought about it. 'I was too young to realize, I don't remember her much. Once I was a little older she started calling me once in a while to let me know where she was, how she was doing, and that's pretty much our relationship. She's asked me to go visit them in Chicago, but I haven't yet.'

'You're not too keen.'

'Not really...' I shook my head. 'One day I'll get brave and go see her, but I'm no rush. I'm glad she's doing well, though. Portman said the area she lives in is really nice.'

'Oh.' Adam hunched over the box he was packing.

I smiled at the memory. 'Well, actually he said 'Your ma must be cashed up, you should try and get in on that while you're still young enough to score allowance.'

'That's really funny.'

'And then, even worse, he asked if he could get a job as her pool boy-'

'So what's your dad like?' Adam asked abruptly.

'Oh.' I looked up, a little surprised. 'He's great. He has his own business, he builds furniture.'

'That's right. He makes it himself?'

I nodded, trying not to look too proud. My dad was a master craftsman of traditional furniture, and he'd built himself up from an apprentice to follow his dream of running his own business. 'It's all handmade. It takes a really long time to make each piece, mostly dining settings and stuff like that with a lot of carving. He does ok, though, because... um...'

'Rich people buy it,' Adam supplied helpfully. Although he was busy working, I noticed a tiny hint of mischief in his smile, because we both knew that we were sitting in exactly the type of house that could afford to house one of my dad's pieces.

'Yeah, they buy it.' I looked up again quickly. 'It's worth it, though. It's nice stuff.'

'I believe you.' Adam taped up another box, glanced over his shoulder at me quickly. 'I'm sure your dad wouldn't make anything that wasn't beautiful.'

I wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that, but a warm, sweet feeling spread through me. I looked back down to what I was doing and realized I was out of bottles.

'What - are we done?' I asked in amazement, looking at the empty space where our pile of boxes had begun.

Adam was silent as he taped up the last box carefully. He grinned up at me finally. 'We're done.'

'That's amazing! I didn't even realize we were close.'

He stood up and checked his watch. He looked surprised. 'We've been here for nearly two hours.'

'No way.' I took the hand he offered me, standing to survey the pile of cartons. 'We totally owned this,' I said in amazement. 'Defeated the wine. And I think this has put me off drinking for life.'

Adam laughed. 'Killed it,' he agreed. 'Not a single one broken, either.' He checked his watch again. 'We could probably still catch an hour of the dance,' he offered quietly.

We could do that. If I wanted to spend time with anyone but him tonight.

'Hey, you promised me pizza,' I reminded him playfully. 'And I want the grand tour.'

I'd always wanted to see where Adam lived. Where he ate and slept, where he sat down to study or relax. Where he was really at home.

He smiled back and led me through to the house.

He hadn't let go of my hand.

**Adam's POV**

I opened the door to the study first, which Dad called the library. It was lined with several heavy bookcases, so I guessed that technically it could be called that. But seriously, who had a library in their own house?

Julie looked around the room, touched the long oval polished oak table lightly. 'You work in here?' she asked.

'Yeah, mostly. Or in my room. This is better to spread out.'

She nodded. 'It's cool. I bet it's nice and quiet to study here.'

I smiled. 'Probably quieter then the dorms, anyway.'

'Or the library,' she agreed, rolling her eyes. 'I swear, I'm considering ear plugs.'

'Or maybe a sign? 'Julie Is Actually Studying,' I visualized, spreading my hands.

'Julie Does Not Want To Talk,' she suggested back emphatically.

I laughed. 'Beware of the Cat.'

'Oh, don't remind me. Did you see the sign at the game?' she asked, covering her face at the memory as we left the study. I reclaimed her hand. She didn't seem to mind at all.

'The one about you?' I snickered, turning to face her as we walked through the house. 'Yeah, I think I saw it. Uh, what did it say again?' I wondered aloud, tapping my chin.

I knew full well what the sign had said. Two freshman guys had made it, and it had made it's grand debut at our last home game.

Julie groaned, shaking her head. I turned on the kitchen light and ushered her in, grinning.

'What was it? Man, my memory sucks. Can you remind me?'

She shot me a dark look under her lashes. ''Nice Kitty,' she muttered reluctantly.

'No, I think it had punctuation. Wasn't it more like... 'Nice, Kitty!'

I didn't know which was funnier – the sign, the little paw prints printed on it, or the enthusiasm of the freshman kids who'd made it, shaking it wildly with huge grins whenever Jules made a save.

Her face had been beet red when the siren sounded.

'They came up after the game and told me it was going to be 'Sweet, Kitty', but they decided to change it 'cause it didn't sound bad-ass enough.' She looked incredulous. 'Because 'Nice, Kitty!' just reeks of credibility, right?'

I pulled out a bench seat for Julie. 'Hey, be happy. You've got fans. They'll be the ones supporting you one day,' I told her sternly, not bothering to hide my smirk.

'That only applies to people who are actually going to play in the NHL, Adam,' she retorted.

Touché. I turned to the fridge to find us something to drink. 'Yeah, well, who knows who that'll end up being,' I muttered.

'It'll be you. Charlie's got a shot. Portman, maybe, if he ever gets serious about practise. And Luis.'

One of my favourite things about Julie is that she's never afraid to give a brutally honest opinion.

I rustled in the fridge to hide my gratification at being at the top of her list. 'Pepsi?'

'Yes, please.'

I grabbed two cans and found glasses. 'What about you?'

'What about me?'

'You're... incredible. You could go places.'

It was true. Julie was amazing to watch in play. Her reflexes were uncannily accurate and she threw herself into every game no holds barred, like her life depended on it.

'I'm never going to play in the NHL, Adam,' she replied bluntly. 'It doesn't matter how good I am. I know people can't believe I'm even allowed to play with you guys now. My hockey career ends at graduation.'

Wow – that sounded depressingly accurate. 'There's women's teams out there,' I pointed out.

Julie hesitated. 'Honestly? I'm not into it. I've always played against guys. I can _beat_ guys. I feel like that's where I belong.' She played with her straw. 'I know that once we graduate, there's no co-ed option. I don't even know if I'd keep playing if I could. But it kinda sucks that since I'm a girl under the uniform, none of the scouts are even going to look at me.' She sipped her cola. 'It doesn't feel good when their eyes pass right over you.'

I leaned on the counter, watching her. I'd never thought of it that way – that maybe Connie and Jules deserved the same chances the rest of us took for granted - that if we were dedicated enough, were truly good enough, we had a shot to make hockey our career. 'Yeah,' I agreed finally. 'It does suck. You work hard out there.'

'How does it make you guys feel?' she asked curiously, leaning on the counter. 'Playing against girls?'

'It's not an issue for us. You and Connie are the only female players I've seen since peewees. And we play alongside you, not against you.'

'Ok. But what if we were on opposing teams?'

I sipped my Pepsi while I gave it some thought.

'I guess – honestly, at first, I'd wonder what you were doing in the game. I'd underestimate you.'

Julie nodded evenly. 'And after the game? After you'd seen me play?'

'I'd probably come ask you out.'

She laughed at that, leaning back in her seat. I think she thought I was joking.

'It's okay.' She shrugged, meeting my eyes. 'There's lots of ways to be involved in the game other than playing. And there's so many other things I want to do, too. For me, playing hockey is not the only thing in the world.' There was a little humour in her eyes.

I considered that, folding my arms and tilting my head. 'I have a feeling that comment was aimed at me.'

'Really?' she smiled a sweet, innocent smile. 'Why would you think that?'

'Because it was, wasn't it.'

'Yes.'

'You think I'm obsessed with hockey and I need to get a life,' I accused lightly. It was a popular opinion.

'No. Not at all. I think you're dedicated to what you want. And you have tunnel vision once you decide you want something.' She slipped down from her seat. 'I didn't say it was a bad thing.'

I put our glasses in the sink and joined her at the counter. 'Um... so, I'll order the pizza?'

Julie shrugged, unfazed. 'I'm not so hungry yet. You?'

'Not really. Want to see the rest of the house first?'

'Sure. I want to see your room,' she told me easily.

That caught me off guard. 'Uh, no, you can't,' I answered automatically. I'd never thought Julie would be coming to my house tonight. What if there was something embarrassing I hadn't noticed? Unflattering family photos. Dirty socks on the floor. My underwear drawer hanging open.

'No?' she repeated, her forehead creasing in concern.

'Um...' I searched for a valid reason to explain myself, and true to style, managed to land on _exactly_ the wrong one. 'It's getting late, I guess... I should get you home...'

'Oh.' Julie looked away and nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. 'Okay.'

_Shit_. 'I mean...' I grabbed her hand impulsively and twirled her under my arm, making her laugh in surprise. 'I was hoping to get at least one dance tonight. Might still have time.'

'Oh!' Julie's face lit up, and I smiled back. 'I thought – okay, great. Let's go!'

_Saved in the final moments, _I thought in relief as we ran back to the car_._

**Julie's POV**

On the drive back to Eden Hall, I pretended to close my eyes and relax. I watched Adam under my lashes.

He looked so confident driving. I felt safe with him, in the warmth of the dark car.

I didn't want to go home yet. I didn't want our night together to end. I didn't even want the car ride to end. I just wanted to look at him.

'Tired?' he asked softly, glancing my way.

I smiled slowly, opening my eyes. 'Just relaxed.'

'Good.'

'Hey – I'm sorry if I said something wrong before. I didn't mean to invade your privacy,' I whispered. I was kind of embarrassed about it.

He hesitated a moment. 'No – you didn't. I got worried that my room was a mess and... I just stuck my foot in it,' he admitted reluctantly.

I smiled. 'Really?'

'Yeah, really. I didn't want to take you home yet.'

He looked a little self-conscious, and busied himself checking the rear-view mirrors.

I laughed a little, poking his arm. 'Great timing, Banksie. We're halfway there now. I _knew_ you didn't want to dance.'

He grinned guiltily. 'I promised you one, though.'

'You did. There's no backing out of it now.'

He smiled over at me. A minute later, gravel crunched as we drove into the visitor car park.

Adam turned off the ignition, and we sat in silence for a few moments.

We looked at each other, both started to speak, and cracked up laughing at the sudden awkwardness.

'Thanks for tonight,' he said suddenly, in a rush. 'For hanging out in a garage with me, when you could have gone dancing.'

'Anytime,' I promised quietly. I felt like I'd take time alone with Adam over... pretty much anything.

He climbed out and came around to open my door. This time, I caught hold of his hand and together we jogged through the soft rain just starting to fall, towards the auditorium.

**Adam's POV**

The dance was almost over. The double doors were open and unattended. It looked like a lot of people had left already, but a few were still on the dance floor making the most of the pounding music, or hanging out in groups around the walls.

We stopped just inside the door. I helped Jules out of her jacket and laid it on an empty chair. She smiled up at me.

I caught sight of Charlie and a few other friends, talking animatedly near the snack bar. Fulton and Portman, hanging out by a back wall. Portman had seen Jules and was holding his arms out to the sides, looking somewhat offended, like _where the hell have you been?_

She'd been with me, all night, and I wasn't going to let anyone screw it up now.

'Let's dance,' I told Jules quickly, taking her hand before anyone had a chance to approach us.

She laughed as I pulled her right into the middle of the floor, caught her around the waist and spun her around and around.

I never danced, but who cared? So what if I looked inept? Jules wouldn't judge me, and she didn't care what anyone else thought. And all I cared about was making sure she'd get to have a little fun now, like I'd promised her.

'You're a good dancer!' she shouted over the music.

'You don't have to sound so surprised!'

We laughed as she took both my hands and shimmied underneath my arm in some smooth move. She was having so much fun, it was contagious, and at the end of the song I even dipped her dramatically. Well, as dramatically as I could manage, whilst being careful not to drop her. I'd never tried it before.

'Whoa!' she giggled happily as I lifted her back up.

A No Doubt song came on, and Jules slipped her arms around my neck, as natural as breathing. I took my cue from her and wrapped my arms around her slender waist.

And felt her body melding into me like we'd been designed to fit together.

We were both quiet for a moment as we recovered our breath. I swayed her gently, breathing in the scent of her skin.

_Julie Gaffney, in my arms._

Sweet and beautiful and precious.

Julie had invited me out in the first place. She'd rescued our date when it seemed doomed.

I had to make the next move, lay my cards on the table, or I'd end up walking her home and tomorrow we'd still be just good friends.

I couldn't let anything keep her from me now. She just got me, like no one ever had before. Her sweet words, playful smiles, her faith in me, it made me feel complete, instead of being a work in progress that never seemed to measure up. And as great as she was, I was taking my shot to be the one who'd make her happy.

No one else could ever look after her as well as I was going to.

Julie raised her head just a little. 'So I get more than one dance?' she asked, her lips soft against my ear.

I swallowed hard, pulling her tighter to me. 'Yeah,' I replied softly, leaning down so I could see her face. Her dark lashes were half-closed, and she looked... happy. 'Guess so. Now you owe me one for next time.'

The sweet curve of her lips parted dreamily, and I moved back a little, just enough to cup her lovely, serene face in my hand.

If I only ever got to do this once, I was going to make it worth remembering.

**Julie's POV**

He was warm and solid under my arms. I knew something had changed between us. We were closer than before. Closer than just friends. Adam was a little more mine then he'd been at the beginning of the night.

He cupped my face in one big hand and I closed my eyes. I wanted his kiss. I knew how Adam Banks would kiss. Soft and sweet and delicious, just like he was himself.

Instead, he kissed me so hard it almost took my head off.

His lips took ownership of mine confidently. His fingers slid around my neck and up into my hair, holding me tight. He parted my lips with a nudge and his warm mouth was hard and hungry, kissing me deep, like this was the last time we'd ever see each other.

Oh, God – I could have fainted. My whole world filled up with Adam, and all I could do was stand there and hold on to him for dear life.

If a kiss could speak volumes, this one said, without doubt, _I want you_.

He rested his head against mine, and I sucked in some air.

'You are the most beautiful, amazing girl I've ever seen and I am _completely_ crazy about you,' he whispered fiercely against my lips.

'Ahhhhhh...' I breathed out slowly. I couldn't form a coherent thought, much less words.

He kissed me again, and this time it was the soft, tender kiss I'd been expecting. I stroked my thumb along his jaw, finally opened my eyes to meet his intense blue gaze.

He was my Adam now.

I still didn't trust myself to speak, so I pulled him down to me again and I kissed him back. And if his kiss had said _I want you_, mine replied,_ I belong to you_.

**End.**

**So, that's the end of the story!**

**...**

**Kidding ;)**

**Be good and review anyway.**


	6. Chapter 6

**luv990696luv – Hehe, nah, I was totally kidding! Six chapters down and we're just getting warmed up... thanks again for reviewing!**

**CaptainAlbatross – yes, I do love sweet, socially inept Adam! Thanks for your review!**

**Chapter 6**

_You are the most beautiful, amazing girl I've ever seen..._

Julie couldn't concentrate to save her life today. For once, she wasn't even trying. It was the first period of Monday morning and she was sitting in English class, gazing at Mr Hall with her chin on her palm, but her mind kept returning to Adam's words.

_I am _completely_ crazy about you..._

The quiet intensity in his voice. The only other time she'd heard it was when he'd talked about his dream of playing pro.

It made her shiver inwardly.

Serious blue eyes. The adorable smile when she'd caught him staring at her as he'd walked her back to the dorms. She'd hugged him tight at her door, and the embrace had lingered silently, because neither had wanted to say goodnight.

With a start, Julie realized Mr Hall had caught sight of her uncharacteristic dreamy, unfocused expression and was standing pointedly in front of her desk. She heard a few giggles from the back of the classroom, anticipating the verbal smackdown she was no doubt about to receive.

The teacher's eyes narrowed, but she was saved by the bell just in time.

He managed to get one in anyway, though.

'Ms Gaffney, you'll be devastated to hear we're finished for the day. With any luck, your evil twin will not be joining us for the next lesson. She fails to hide her boredom as well as the real one.'

Julie smiled apologetically, gathering her books. 'Just – planning my project, sir. Going to get started on it tonight,' she promised. She liked this class, usually. She even liked Mr Hall. He was tough but fair, and he was merciless on inattentive students.

Usually, that wasn't Julie, and therefore much more amusing for her.

'Well, see that you do,' he murmured gruffly, but raised an eyebrow at her with a hint of wry bemusement.

Julie smiled back politely and got the hell out of there.

Outside the school, she saw Fulton and Dean huddled furtively under an awning and headed over with a skip in her step.

She loved hanging out with those guys – they were two of her best friends. Fulton in particular had a hilariously dry sense of humor. And Dean was kind of special to her, because although he was the biggest, baddest guy in school, he had a lot of issues he kept close to his chest and he needed his friends to get him through the day. Fult was slightly more responsible, and they tried to keep Dean on the straight and narrow when he went a little off-kilter. Sometimes he took a lot of convincing.

They were awesome friends. Something about their larger-than-life presence was so comfortable to be around. If they were hanging out in the dorms, and Julie suddenly decided to stretch out on the floor and take a nap, Fulton and Dean would think nothing of it. They supported impromptu naptime at any given place or time. Stealing one another's food, drinks, homework or clean laundry was also acceptable and encouraged. Running up and jumping on each other's backs unexpectedly was highly recommended. Life was a party. Anything for a good time.

Basically, they were the most fun, laid-back people Julie had ever met.

They all looked out for each other. Whenever Julie went somewhere with Fulton and Dean, they fell into step on either side of her, so big that she felt like she had two bodyguards. Two big brothers.

'Hey, guys.' Julie stepped through the garden to join them under their awning.

'Hey, Jules,' Fulton grinned back, but Portman turned away. A second later she saw the tiniest tendril of smoke emerge above him.

'Hi,' he huffed.

Julie rolled her eyes in disbelief. 'Really? You only just got out of detention for last time.'

'Yeah, but they thought that was a cigarette,' he grunted like that made it ok, squinting in her direction. 'No real harm done.'

She frowned as she tried to snatch the little cancer stick – luckily, this one actually was a cigarette- out of his fingers. 'Why would you do that right out front of the school?'

'Relax...' Dean slung his arm around Julie's shoulders, nonchalantly holding his cigarette out of her reach. This was not unusual behaviour. Dean was kind of a hugger. 'If anyone sees, I'll just tell 'em it's yours.'

He smirked down, and from the way the smoke escaped from between his teeth, it was obvious he was chuckling at her.

'What?' Julie asked, looking to Fulton. Fulton looked back with a mischievous look like he was kind of amused himself, but was just too gentlemanly to say anything.

'_What_?'

'Banks?' Dean demanded, with that smug smirk. 'Seriously?'

The way he said it was like Julie was considering inviting Mr Hall to prom.

Julie narrowed her eyes. She hadn't done anything wrong. So they'd probably seen her have a little kiss with her date. They'd both done a lot worse on a first date, and she didn't judge them for it.

'What about _Adam_?' she asked with exaggerated patience.

'Why?' Portman asked, squinting at Julie like he was genuinely puzzled. 'Were you drunk?'

She punched him in the chest to get him off her shoulders. 'No, I was not. And actually, it's none of your business.'

He snorted, the easy smile dropping off his face. 'Yeah, it's none of my business when my friend lets someone drool all over her ass in public.'

'I didn't – he didn't-' Julie held her hands up, a little stunned at the sudden vehemence. 'Just back off. Okay?'

Portman shrugged carelessly. He blew a stream of smoke in her direction, his dark eyes cold.

'Oh, come on.' Julie waved the smoke away and leaned on the wall next to him, trying to break the tension. Dean was a little possessive of his friends. He didn't appreciate Fulton spending too time with other people either, and he didn't like interlopers into his personal circle. Whatever his problem was, Julie was always good at calming him down. 'Give me a break. We're friends. We're just getting to know each other, that's all.' She smiled brightly. No problems here.

'Looks like you knew him a little better after Friday night.'

_Thanks, Fulton._ Julie sent him a look. At least he just sounded amused.

'Where were you all night?'

She glanced away casually. 'Well, I was at Adam's house...'

'Ohhh, I see. Were you getting to know each other there, too?'

'Shut up.' She frowned at Fulton's knowing grin. 'Wow, you guys suck.'

'Yeah, shut up, man.' Portman didn't look as cheerful as Fult did. 'Jules ain't like that.'

Julie smiled smugly at Fulton. He raised a teasing eyebrow in return, like i_f you say so_.

'She's just being nice. God, she's not into _Banks_.'

Julie studied her nails. 'Why wouldn't I be into him?' she asked quietly.

'Because he _sucks_,' Dean groaned, closing his eyes like the thought of Adam Banks caused him actual pain. 'He's a rich little tool with no game and you know you could do way better, sweetheart. That's why you're not into him. Alright?'

Portman's patronizing tone annoyed Julie no end, but she ignored the nasty comments about Adam. He was trying to pick a fight, which was how he tried to deal with everything that frustrated him, and she knew him too well to play into it. She met Dean's eyes evenly. 'I really like him,' she told him calmly. 'He's my friend. Please don't start in on him.'

'Well, I really don't like him. And someone has to look out for you,' Dean told her flatly. 'Not my fault if you don't like hearing the truth.' He folded his arms grimly.

'That's not the truth. You just don't know him like I do-'

'Why do you have to hang with Banks? You want to date someone, that's fine. Date someone cool. Date Fulton!' He actually gave Julie a little push towards his Bash Brother, like she would take the hint and just fall into Fulton's arms, end of story.

Fulton and Julie eyed each other in shared frustration. Neither had the slightest interest in each other, which Portman knew perfectly well. He was just in an obnoxious mood.

'Ok,' Fulton decided suddenly, spreading his hands. 'Let's just drop this, alright? Alright.'

'Whatever, I really don't give a shit,' Dean muttered under his breath, his jaw set.

Julie bit her lip. Portman was acting like a pain in the ass, but she had to be the bigger person to get past it. He just hated change with a passion. If Adam was going to hang out with them eventually, it was up to her to make peace. She stood up on tiptoes and laid her hands on his big shoulders. 'Hey. Don't freak out, it's not like I'm going to ditch you guys or anything. See? Still here.' She smiled up reassuringly.

'Doesn't bother me what you do, Catlady.' Portman examined the sky with great interest so he didn't have to see the pleading sincerity in Julie's eyes.

'Adam really is a decent guy. Come on, just give him a chance. Have a conversation or something. _Hi, how's it going_. It won't hurt at all. You'll see.'

'Whatever, Jules. I got enough friends,' he muttered, but deigned to meet Julie's gaze finally. He wasn't going to be able to hold off from the attack of puppy dog eyes she was sending his way for long, but he was determined to make his point.

Julie thought for a second. 'Hey. Do I have to get the rabbit?' she asked him seriously.

Portman's sullen face slowly split into a reluctant grin. 'You know where you can shove your rabbit, Gaffney.'

'Aww, you wanna hold the wabbit?' Julie cooed mockingly, her green eyes wide with feigned innocence. 'Someone need a bunny cuddle?'

They had a running joke that all the scariest guys really wanted deep down was a bunny rabbit to love. Whenever Dean was in big-bad-dude mode, Julie would offer to find him a bunny and it was usually ridiculous enough to at least get a smile out of him.

'You ever bring a damn rabbit anywhere near me and I'll-' Portman started, pointing a stern finger in her face.

'Pet it, and snuggle it, and give it little bunny kisses-' Julie teased happily, nuzzling the pointed finger with the end of her nose. He was going to crack. She could tell.

'Fulton, get her crazy ass away from me.'

'I want none of that, man, you're on your own.'

'It has a cold little bunny nose and it goes, sniff, sniff-'

Portman finally cracked up and caught Julie in an affectionate headlock as they headed back towards second period.

'Aww, who loves bunnies?' Julie grinned up triumphantly.

'Good news, babe. They finally have a bed free for you at the psych ward.'

'Wait, you're out on day release? I am so proud...'

Ok, so Dean hadn't exactly promised to be nice to Adam. But at least he was over his negative gut reaction.

As far as Julie was concerned, it was a start to a future that included both her good friends, and Adam Banks.

**Monday afternoon**

**Adam's POV**

For a Monday, it had been a helluva good day and I couldn't help smiling. School was done for the day and I was headed for the locker room with my bag on my shoulder. I could hear voices inside already, but as I started to push the door open, I heard my own name mentioned and froze.

' - with Banks. She's just bein' sweet, she's a sweet kid. She's not interested at all, I talked to her.'

Portman.

'She actually said to me, like, 'why would I be interested in Banks?''

_Julie did not say that._

A disbelieving snort. 'Yeah, I find that kind of hard to believe. They've been hanging out a lot lately.'

_Thanks, Charlie._

Another voice joined in.

'No, I'd have to agree with the big guy. Adam's a nice enough guy, I ain't saying otherwise, but he's not the type to keep a girl. He's too in love with his own game. He'd probably try to pick her up and slap a shot with her.'

Luis, and a few scattered laughs.

'Gimme a break. They're, like, perfect together. They're gonna be prom king and queen, he'll knock her up in the backseat of his Barbie car and they'll have perfect little blonde children.'

I wasn't sure whether or not to be grateful to Fulton for his input, but at least he sounded somewhat positive.

'Whatever, bro. He'd have to find his junk first. And even if he did, you know for sure he still wouldn't know what to do with it-'

I pushed the door hard and it slammed open, walked straight across to my locker in the sudden guilty silence.

I thought about some kind of witty retort, _don't stop on my behalf, fellas_ but I could feel my face burning red and I didn't want the hassle anyway. Charlie waved hello as I went by.

'Hey, man.' Portman was behind me now, tossing a shirt from hand to hand. Couldn't he just put it on? 'Sup, Banks? How's it going?'

His voice was overly friendly.

I didn't bother to reply, stripping off my shirt and wasting no time in getting changed. Jules and I were going to be spending time together, and if Portman didn't like it, he could go jump. I wasn't playing friendly with someone who I knew couldn't stand me.

'Fine, don't talk to me. At least I tried. Right, bro? You saw that. I tried to say hi, and he shuts me down. I guess only certain people on this team are worthy of his attention.'

'_Hello_,' I muttered, keeping my back to the performance Portman was putting on for the benefit of our teammates. There was an uncomfortable quiet in the room apart from his strident voice. Charlie was watching out of the corner of his eye with concern, but he stayed out of it for now. Good.

Apparently the rest of them were only happy to rag on me behind my back, not to my face.

'You have a pleasant weekend?'

The same fake sociable tone. I'd seen Portman do this before, I wasn't buying into it. He'd play pseudo friendly and let you wait and wonder when you might get punched in the gut.

'It was fine.'

'Yeah? What'd you do?'

'Minded my own business.' I sat down to lace up my skates.

'Oh, you did?' Portman's calm voice was a little unnerving. 'I thought maybe you were busy scamming on girls who got no time for you. That's what I thought.'

'Well, some of us have other things to think about then girls.'

Portman snorted derisively. 'Like what - guys?'

I stopped for a moment before I finished tying off my skates. I wasn't going to dignify that with a reply.

'Come on, Portman, give it a rest...' Charlie sighed, giving Portman an unamused look as he pulled his own skates on.

Thankfully, I was ready to go. I was nearly out the door by the time Portman spoke again.

'Ok, see you out there. Fag.'

I stopped at the door.

No one had ever come right out and said it to my face before.

No one spoke. No one contradicted Portman. The worst thing was, no one even laughed, like it was just a really lame insult. There was just silence. Like they were waiting to hear whether or not I'd deny it.

A dozen replies ran through my head. What was the point? They'd believe whatever they wanted to.

I threw the door open and headed for the ice wordlessly.

I heard Charlie's voice as I left.

'Wow, Portman, congratulations. You're officially the biggest asshole on my team...'

It'd only make things worse if I tried to defend myself. I knew Portman just wanted to see me squirm. I didn't have anything to prove to him, he could go to hell. All of them. They didn't know anything about me. Nothing.

I charged into furious laps of the rink, concentrating on moving as fast as I possibly could, away from the voices and words and bullshit rumors, until I could hear was my own breath and the sound of my skates on the ice.

**Please review ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for delayed update. Life happened, in a big way. Aint it a bitch? **

**They may have mentioned Orion's daughter's name in D3, but I seriously just cannot remember it. So I have named her Ellie. Cause it's cute. Cool? :) Go ahead, tell ****me her real name now, I know you want to.**

**luv990696luv: I'm so glad you checked back Yes I think you're right, there's a good possibility of a showdown! Those two just seemed destined to clash...**

**HealingSpringWaters: Thanks for your mighty kind words, so pleased you're enjoying the story!**

**Monica: Wow, you reviewed all my stories? Even the weird one? You're an angel! Thanks so much, you really inspired me to get this damn chapter done!**

**General POV**

Orion blew his whistle.

'Alright, that's it for today. Not a bad effort. Banks, way to hustle. Averman, rest that knee if you want to play this Friday, I can see you're still favouring it. Hit the showers. Gaffney, I need a word in my office, thank you...'

'Ooooh, Catlady... someone's in trouble...'

Julie took off her helmet and rolled her eyes at Kenny and Russ. She caught up with Adam quickly as the team filed towards the locker room.

'Hey,' she smiled up.

He'd barely said a word during practise and had completed all the drills with grim determination.

'Hi.'

His voice had that quiet, withdrawn tone.

'Everything ok?'

Adam nodded slowly. He tried to smile but it looked more like a grimace. 'Yeah. Everything's fine. '

Julie bit her lip. He didn't look fine.

'Come by my room, ok? I'll be there soon as I talk to Coach,' she offered, looking up at Adam's solemn face.

He managed a small smile. 'Ok,' he agreed softly.

'I won't be long.'

**30 minutes later**

Adam was waiting outside Julie's door, sitting against the wall. He looked up and smiled as she approached.

'Hey.' Julie tapped his leg playfully with her sneaker. 'Whatcha doing down there?'

'Nothing. Just thinking.'

Julie nodded, unlocking the door. 'Come on in,' she offered quietly.

He followed her inside.

Julie's room was warm and welcoming. She had the unusual luxury of a room to herself, due to an odd number of residents in her dorm. The right half of the room held a neatly made single bed with a red cover. A desk under the window was organized with stacks of books. A dresser with a mirror, one framed photo and a small jewellery box. A cork noticeboard on the wall held to-do notes, quotations and lots of pinned-on photos. Julie with her dad. Julie and Connie dressed up for a costume party. Ducks, Ducks, and more Ducks. Adam even saw his own face smiling out from a group photo at Goldberg's last birthday party. The other side of the room was bare, except that the matching bed was made up with a quilt.

He could see her in here. Curled up on the bed with a novel. Putting her earrings on in front of the dresser.

'It's a nice room. You're lucky to have a single.'

'Thanks. It's kind of awesome, I have to admit. I love having my own space.'

'Am I actually allowed to be in here?'

'Technically... no, not really. But they're pretty cool about guys visiting during the day.' Visiting her, anyway. Her dorm supervisor took the view of _oh, how original, another Duck kid to see Julie_. Julie hung up her coat. 'So... what's going on?'

Adam started to reply _nothing_, but he stopped before the lie started. He shrugged instead. 'It's good to see you,' he said quietly.

It was more than good to see her. She was the bright spot of his day.

Julie smiled and crossed the room fast, stood up on her toes to give him a firm hug. Adam closed his eyes for a moment, gripping her tight. Her hair was still a little damp from the shower and she smelled like heaven.

'You, too,' she whispered, pulling back reluctantly. 'Come sit.' She took a seat on the bed, patting the spot next to her.

Adam joined her, and they settled back against the wall. Julie curled up, her eyes holding him as she waited patiently.

'It's fine. Just locker room crap,' he admitted finally. 'It doesn't matter.'

'Don't listen to it, Adam.'

'I won't. I mean I try not to, but...'

Julie nodded. 'It's hard not to.'

'It is.'

'So... what happened today?'

Adam hesitated. Things were going so well, he didn't want to bring up the issue. 'Honestly, I'd rather just forget about it.'

'Oh. Sorry.' Julie smiled apologetically. If he didn't want to think about it right now, she wasn't going to push. He'd share when he felt ready.

'No, it's no big deal, really. It's just lame.' He nudged her hand gently. 'I'd rather talk to you. What did Coach want?'

'Oh, right.' Julie tucked her hair back, her face lighting up. 'I have a job! He asked me to come over and babysit Ellie sometime.'

'Really? That's great.'

'Yeah, I was so surprised when he asked me. I can't wait. I really want to see his house.'

Adam laughed at Julie's excitement. 'What is it with you and people's houses?' he wondered good-naturedly. 'You grow up in a tent or something?'

'Pretty much.' Julie giggled. 'We did camp a lot. I'm nosy, I guess.' She shrugged her lack of concern at her vice and raised an eyebrow at Adam confidentially. 'But really,wouldn't you want to see inside Orion's house?'

'I don't know. I'd be scared of seeing something weird, then I'd never be able to look him in the eye again.'

'Weird like what?'

'I don't know. Like... a whip?'

Adam snickered as Julie gaped at him, considering the possibility.

'You think he's the type?'

'He does like to be in charge,' he pointed out, trying hard to keep a straight face.

'Gross!' Julie groaned, covering her face in horror as Adam laughed. 'Don't make me think of that. Now I won't be able to look inside any of the drawers at his house.'

'You were going to _search the drawers_?' Adam asked in a mock-shocked voice.

'No, of course not!' She protested. 'You know what I meant, if I needed to find something...'

'Oh, I see, sorry.' Adam chuckled happily as Julie attacked him playfully, trying to press her hands over his mouth. 'Wonder what else he has in the goodie drawer?' he wondered aloud, catching her hands. 'You think – hey, you think he wears the _whistle_?' he widened his eyes dramatically.

'Ewww...' Julie giggled, closing her hand over Adam's mouth firmly. 'Quit it. He's my future employer.'

Adam's reply was muffled.

'What?' Julie teased, not letting him up. 'Sorry, can't hear you.'

Adam made mmm-mmf sounds, enjoying Julie's hold on him too much to really struggle.

She removed her hand.

'Mmm-mmm-mmmf- oh, right. Don't look in any bedside drawers, that's all I'm saying. Probably avoid the bathroom, too, just to be safe.'

Julie sat back, shaking her head sadly. 'And you look like such a nice boy.'

Adam grinned guiltily as he sat up. 'Looks can be deceiving.'

She cocked her head. 'Ah. Maybe I should reconsider being alone in my room with you.'

'You're safe with me. I promise.' He smiled innocently.

'Yeah, that sounds like exactly what a potential sex fiend would say.'

Adam laughed. 'It does, doesn't it...' he agreed as they settled back into their previous seating positions. 'Sorry. I was just kidding around.'

'I know that...' Julie smiled down, secretly pleased. Adam seemed so much more relaxed now then when she'd found him outside the door. She drew her knees up,noticing that he shifted a little closer too. Good.

'What are you doing later?'

'I'm catching up with Fult and Dean. They think we're just hanging out, but I'm going to chain them to their desks and play them Nsync nonstop until they agree to do history homework with me. Or start sobbing. You?'

Adam smiled a little. 'Same. Just studying. Minus the Nsync. And the chains.'

'Pity. You're missing out. Hey, you could join us if you want.'

He hesitated. 'Maybe we could study during the week. Just us.'

Julie frowned. 'You'd be welcome to come.'

'I doubt it.'

Julie hugged her knees and rested her head on them, looking up at Adam. He had that withdrawn look again. She could tell when he was hurting, and she hated it. 'Did Dean say something today?' she asked abruptly. 'Was that what happened?'

'Yeah, but it doesn't matter,' he replied softly.

'Yes, it does. What did he say?' she asked, her eyes darkening. Portman was supposed to cut Adam some slack, not rip his head off the second her back was turned.

Adam shook his head slowly. 'I really don't want-'

'Adam, please. Just tell me-'

'I'm not gay,' he muttered, looking away.

After a moment, he felt Julie pick up his hand with a gentle touch, laced her fingers through his.

'I know.' Her voice was reassuringly calm, like that was a completely obvious point to make.

'If I was, I wouldn't be ashamed of it,' Adam continued angrily. 'I'm just _not_. Why the hell is it that people would believe you if you say you _are_, but not when you say you're not?'

'I know you're not. They know it too. It's just noise, Adam. I know it sucks, but don't let it get you down.'

He couldn't look at her.

'So that's what he said? _Idiot_.'

Her voice was so annoyed, he couldn't help smiling a little.

'More or less.'

'I'm going to kill him. I asked him to lay off of you, and this is what he does?'

'You did? Why?'

Julie laid her head against his shoulder, searching his eyes. 'You know why,' she told him quietly.

Because she wanted Adam around. Every day. She wasn't going to let him go now.

She shivered a little when he ran his fingers through her hair, gentle as could be.

'Can I ask something?'

'Sure.'

'Why do you even hang out with Portman? He's such an ape.'

Julie exhaled slowly, considering.

'Dean's... he's actually a good person. I mean...' she rolled her eyes. 'Well, most days. When he's not acting like the village idiot. But usually, he's decent. He just doesn't like to show it. He always looks out for me. Covered for me a couple times.' She smiled up. 'And other stuff, too. Like the Scooter thing.'

Adam had been about to ask what exactly Julie Gaffney would need someone to cover her for, but he stopped short when she continued. Julie and Scooter had seemed to be dating for a few weeks after that first JV/Varsity match. Then he'd suddenly disappeared, and when Russ had asked Julie at their cafeteria table what exactly had happened, she'd made a mortified face, covered her ears and sang, 'Not thinking about it, la la la la la!' She'd refused to elaborate any further.

'Yeah, Scooter. So... what happened there?'

'You really wanna know?'

'Well, yeah. I never heard the whole story.'

'Well. I didn't really want anyone knowing.' Julie looked at her hands. 'Um, well...' she sighed. 'At first, it was fine. He was really nice... he took me to the movies and a party, stuff like that. It was kinda fun. And one time we just sat in his car and talked for like two hours.'

'Right...' Adam hoped it wasn't too obvious that he'd be happy to skip the romance and get to the break-up sooner rather than later.

'So, it's all going great. He invited me to dinner with his parents at this restaurant, it was really nice. And then afterwards...' she grimaced a little. 'We went for a drive up to this lookout he knew.'

'Mmm-hmm...'

Julie looked up, her eyes unreadable. 'And we talked, and he kissed me, and it was nice. We kissed for a little bit. And then, um...'

Adam waited patiently as Julie hesitated, but the story seemed to have stalled. He was getting an idea of how it went, though.

'He... tried to get you in the backseat,' he guessed slowly.

'Uh, no.' Julie laughed nervously, her cheeks turning hot red. 'Not... not even the backseat.' She grimaced pointedly.

Adam's face said _huh?_

'He, um...' Julie pressed her lips together, staring at the bedspread. 'He sort of... unzipped.' She winced and looked up. 'And he said, 'come here, cutie.' Just like that.'

'He _what_?' Adam choked in disbelief, eyes wide.

Julie nodded resignedly. 'Yeah. That's kind of what I thought.'

'He just - you're _kidding_.'

'I wish I was.' Julie shook her head. 'Anyway, I thought he was joking, so I sort of laughed, and then I just stared at him like a dope. And then... I got kind of angry. I thought we were really starting to know each other and he treats me like some stupid freshman girl who'd do anything to impress a senior? I mean, 'come here, cutie'? So I looked away, and I said ok, I think you can take me home now.'

Adam grimaced. 'How'd he take that?'

Julie shrugged. 'I think he was embarrassed. He started the car straight away and we didn't talk the whole way home. When we got back to the campus, we sort of sat there in this awkward silence for a minute. And I told him he wasn't the person I thought he was, and I didn't want to see him anymore.'

'Good for you.' He squeezed her hand.

Julie smiled. 'I was upset, though,' she confided softly. 'I came inside and I tried not to be. But I cried a little bit. I really thought he liked me. And I felt stupid. I realized... it could have been a lot worse, and I had to look after myself a little better.'

Adam shook his head slowly, leaning back. 'I honestly didn't think Scooter was the type.'

'Yeah, well. I don't think he really knew what type he was. Or what type I was.'

'No, guess not. So...'

'So, he came up to me the next day and tried to hug me, like we'd just had some stupid fight. I wouldn't let him. I walked away. He tried to talk to me a few times, and he even put a note in my locker asking if I'd give him a chance to explain. Explain what? I didn't want anything else to do with him. So, um, finally Portman had to have a little talk with him and that was the last I really saw of him.'

'Why Portman?'

'Well, he saw that I was getting a little freaked out. So he asked me what had really happened, I told him, and he said to leave it up to him.' Julie smiled guiltily. 'I made him promise he wouldn't do anything but talk to him. And it worked, I guess. He left me alone after that. And... I know I shouldn't have cared, but I asked Dean what Scott had to say about it.'

'Which was...'

'Nothing complimentary, apparently. I guess he wasn't happy that I wouldn't forgive him.'

Adam exhaled. 'Wow.'

'Yep. Pretty lame, right?'

'What a jerk! I'm surprised Portman didn't kick his ass. He should have.'

That was one instance of Portman beating someone up that he could actually get behind.

Julie frowned. 'I told him not to. I don't think Scott was such a bad person. He just hadn't figured out whether he wanted to fit the stereotype.'

'The stereotype?'

'Rich, entitled asshole. Like Rick and the others. Born into money and thinks that makes them little kings of their territory.'

Adam smiled down ruefully.

'No – oh, no, I didn't mean you,' Julie protested, looking up. 'You were never like that.'

'Could've been. If I'd stayed on Varsity with them.'

'No way.'

Adam hesitated. 'I didn't join the Ducks by choice, you know that. I wasn't really a nice little kid.'

'What were you like?'

Adam smiled. 'Rich, entitled asshole...'

Julie laughed with him.

'That pretty much sums it up. Dad fought tooth and nail to keep me from joining the Ducks.'

'So why did you?'

'I wanted to play. So bad. I didn't have any other option. Dad knew it, too. So I just turned up at practise.'

'How was it?'

Adam chuckled wryly at the memory. 'Everyone hated me. Everyone. My new team. My old team. I was so pissed off, 'cause I felt like I hadn't done anything to deserve it. My stupid house was just a few metres in the wrong direction.'

'But... it was the best thing that could've happened. We won the championship that year. I got to play on an international level at the Games. I got the scholarship here.'

And he realized, looking down at the girl curled up next to him, he didn't turn out like just another Rick Riley or Scooter Vanderbilt, who'd had a real chance with Julie and struck out due to the sense of entitlement he'd grown up with.

He was the guy sitting here with her now, his arm around her shoulders, sharing their secrets and playing with her silky blonde hair.

'And here we are now,' he finished quietly.

'Well. I'm glad your stupid house was a few metres in the wrong direction.'

Adam smiled back, ran his thumb tenderly along Julie's face. She closed her eyes blissfully. 'Not half as much as I am,' he confided, and kissed his girl softly.

**Yes, it's very talky talky talk - more action next chapter. Please review!**

_._


	8. Chapter 8

**Note: OK! Man, game face on. I'm going back to school after a long time away, starting tomorrow, and determined to get a damn chapter up before the craziness starts. If I was smart, I would realize life is getting too busy and just quit writing it now. But I'm going to try to keep it going for all the sweethearts who have left me such kind reviews. (It helps that after this chapter, I've already written the majority of the story. So it'd be a shame to quit now, right?)**

**Panicxhannah – Thanks so much, I see Adam in such a specific way, it's great to know he's coming across right!**

**Luv990696luv – Glad you liked it! This chapter is somewhat similar to the last – but the next one won't be...**

**HealingSpringWaters – Awesome, I'm really pleased that you like Portman as he's portrayed! I see him as quite a complex guy too, and I don't think he'd always be the lovable type to be around.**

**Steph – Oh cool, that's such a compliment! Hope you enjoy.**

**Adam's POV**

Life was getting better and sweeter every day.

Julie Gaffney was now officially my girlfriend. That was how most of our friends and the general Eden Hall population saw it, but to us, it was more than that. She was the closest friend I'd ever had, wrapped up in the prettiest girl I've ever met. There was nothing we didn't talk about, and I kept her secrets as safe as she kept mine.

I hadn't said that I loved her, but I knew she knew anyway.

Most days now, I'd meet Jules before school, just so we had a few minutes alone. Sometimes I'd stop by Starbucks on the way to school and buy her a latte for a surprise. I walked her to most of her classes. At first I was a little worried she'd get sick of me waiting for her, but I noticed she'd started to look for me when she left the room, and when she saw me there, the smile just lit up her face. At lunch we met up at the Duck table, or some days we'd grab our own little corner somewhere, just the two of us. Those were my favourite days.

After the first couple of weeks, when it gets out that two people are now 'together' and have to live in a fishbowl of curious stares and dumb questions, people were now getting used to always seeing us together. Jules had different friends coming up to say hi to her all the time and to my surprise, they started saying hi to me, too. We were fast becoming 'JulieandAdam'.

**Charlie's POV**

'You guys are like, 'JulieandAdam' now.'

Adam smiled at my expression. We were on the quad, stretching out as we waited for the rest of the class to meander out for PE. 'Yeah, I guess. So what?'

'It's so freakin' adorable, sometimes I could just, what's the word...' I sighed wistfully as I searched for just the right word. Ah, there it was. 'Heave.'

'Jealous...' Adam accused back with a sly grin. He seemed so much happier, more at ease. He was even starting to come to a few more of our team events. Easy enough - we just asked Julie first and if she said she'd go, Banks would follow. Most of the team were pretty accepting of the whole 'JulieandAdam' thing. Not least of all because they got to tease him mercilessly about being 'Mr Gaffney' or 'the Catman'. Heh heh. 'Catman' was mine.

I struck a suave pose, surveying the field around us. 'Ah, some of us prefer the single life to being joined at the hip with one girl, Adam,' I told him airily.

Which was a nice way of looking at it. My love life had recently stalled and spluttered to a dying halt.

He straightened up. 'Yeah, you wish you could be joined at the hip with my girl.'

Ha! Awesome. 'Oh, god, please don't go developing a sense of humor. I can't take it. It's hard enough for me to grasp that you actually have a girlfriend now.'

'You're not the only one, trust me.'

'Huh.' I followed his gaze. 'Yeah...'

**Adam's POV**

On that day three weeks earlier, after I'd had to leave for home, Julie had ditched her study date and Portman had come looking for her. They'd 'had words' as she put it, and she'd refused to open the door or speak to him again until he'd apologized to me. I didn't think it would actually happen, but after a couple days of sulky silence, he'd approached me in the hall with this bullshit apology.

'_Hey, Banks. Nice work finking me out to Jules, man. I'm all cut up that you took what I said so serious and had to go have yourself a good long cry. I know life's real tough when you're a rich white kid, but you shouldn't be so sensitive, y'know? So, here it is, I'm really, really sorry for pointing out that you look and act like a total homo. Have a nice fuckin' day.'_

Of course, after calling me out for 'finking' on him to Julie, he'd immediately taken the seat next to hers at lunch and announced that 'shit was all sorted'. She'd turned to me for confirmation, looking so pleased and hopeful that I'd just smiled at her and let it go.

Maybe I shouldn't have.

I looked across the field. Julie had just walked out to join the class and already Portman was looking her way.

'Hmmm...'

I straightened up, watching him walk over to her. 'He'll touch her,' I predicted to Charlie. 'Just watch. He can't help himself.'

Sure enough, after a moment of conversation, Portman scooped Julie up suddenly and spun her around and around in his arms, making her ponytail whip round.

'Ah, don't worry about it, Banks.' Charlie waved it off dismissively. 'She's not into him. I hear she's already taken.'

'Yeah, well, it'd be great if he could keep his hands off of her for one friggin' day.'

As we walked, I related to Charlie all the ways that Dean Portman had managed to piss me off already this week.

On Monday, when we were at lunch, he'd asked to see Julie's new bracelet and then scrawled DEAN PORTMAN down her bare arm with a big black marker. Really mature. She'd scrubbed it off but I could see the faint marks for the rest of the day.

On Wednesday, he'd walked by us in the hallway and taken a lollipop out of Julie's mouth, putting it straight into his own and continuing on without a word. _Dickhead_.

It was Friday now, and right on schedule, I could add 'grabbing Julie for no reason whatsoever and spinning her in circles until they both crashed to the ground in a dizzy heap.'

'Idiot...' I hissed under my breath as we jogged the last few feet.

'Oh, shit.' Portman sat up next to Jules, still laughing as she shook herself off. 'Baby, I think we're busted.'

Charlie sent me a look. _Don't react, Adam. That's what he wants._

'Get off of me, dork...' Julie laughed, ducking out from under his arm and striding over to greet us, all cute and athletic in her little gym shorts and bouncy ponytail. 'Hey...' she pulled me down for a quick hug. I held her for a long moment before I leaned back to check her for any bumps or scrapes.

'Hey. You ok?'

'I'm fine.' She rolled her eyes, smiling. 'Apparently, the muscles are just implants. Who knew? All good for later?'

I had to smile at her casual diss. 'Yeah, all good.'

'What's later?' Charlie was quick to ask, lest something happen that he wasn't the first to know about.

'Just meeting up with the guys. Russ and Kenny.'

'Sounds good. Can I come?'

'Sure.'

He looked slightly disappointed. 'Oh, so... that's actually what you're doing? I thought maybe it was code, for... y'know, meet me behind the bleachers, wear something that won't show grass stains...'

'Shut it, Spazway.' I shoved him away, trying not to smile at his grinning face.

'What'd you tell your dad?' Jules asked once Charlie had gone to embarrass someone else.

'Just training. I'll get a ride with him home later.'

She nodded slowly. I can tell she doesn't like the deception, but she understands. It's either lie and we can spend the afternoon together, or tell the truth and deal with another argument about priorities, which I will lose.

We both know which option we'll take.

The ironic thing is that for all Dad's major concern about my priorities and getting distracted from the important things - Jules is already so focused on the same goals I am. Grades, fitness, training. We both like to eat healthier stuff that the rest of our friends consider bird food. We've started working out together. We study a lot, and I'm getting the best grades of my life. We just... work together. I function better with Julie in my life.

Dad should be thanking Julie, but he doesn't even realize she exists. I have this feeling that when he does, it's not going to go so great for me. Better to let sleeping dogs lie. Let him believe that I'm training alone. As long as I play well, where's the harm?

Our PE teacher's running late, and everyone's goofing off now, led by Portman's heroic and shining example of nearly crushing Jules. Charlie jogged back over to us, carrying Connie on his back. She grinned down at us happily. I guess it's nice not to be the shortest one in the crowd occasionally.

'Ah, Adam Banks, we meet again.' Charlie hefted Connie for a better grip. 'Time to get yo' Gump on, sonny. One lap of the track. Choose your cargo. Gaffney, you don't look busy. All competitors ready?' he crouched down as Connie held on tight.

'Jul?' I started to ask. She's already jumping on my back by the time I speak. I'm not complaining. 'We've got this,' she whispered confidently in my ear, tightening her grip. 'Just go hard like I'm not there. I'll hang on.'

From the death grip she's got on me, she's not joking. Julie does not like to lose. Neither do I.

'Don't worry. Conway hasn't beaten me in a race since-'

'GO!'

Shit. Time to run.

**After school**

'There's this little Thai restaurant, you'd love it. Kenny and I went there last night for dinner. So good, and they're unbelievably cheap.'

'Ah... yeah, great...' I trailed off awkwardly. I didn't have a whole lot to share in return. My culinary experience last night had been baked chicken, eaten on my own in the kitchen. Not exactly exciting, when Kenny Wu was happily sharing Thai food with Julie.

We were walking across the front lawn outside the school, enjoying the last of the late afternoon sun.

I must still be a little sensitive from that other guy, what's his name? The one who won't stop touching my girlfriend. Not that Kenny Wu is the type you tend to worry about. He's the shy, quiet type. Then again, somehow Julie is dating _me_, so maybe it's not too far of a stretch.

'I don't think I'm his type, Adam.' Julie smiles wryly at me, recognising what I'm not saying.

'I'm pretty sure _gorgeous_ is everyone's type, Jul.'

She ducks her head, adorable when she's embarrassed. She considered something, swinging my hand. 'No, really. I'm definitely not Kenny's type.' She met my gaze with a serious look. 'And... Connie wouldn't be, either.'

Oh.

'I see.'

Wow. I think about Kenny Wu. We'd spent the past hour hanging out on the front lawns with him and Russ. Come to think of it...

'And... Russ...' I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

'Oh, no! Not at all.' Jules catches my other hand, walking backwards so we can talk. 'I think Kenny likes someone back home, a guy he grew up with. But he's not sure if they're just friends, or...'

'More than friends.'

'Right.'

'That can't be easy,' I considered after a few steps. 'For Kenny. I mean, not just the... relationship stuff. Everything.'

'It's not. He doesn't tell anyone. His parents don't know, either. He only told me and Russ because we figured it out eventually anyway.' Julie shook her head, recalling the moment. 'It was just us, and he was so scared when we talked to him. His hands were shaking,' she told me quietly.

'Poor guy.' All the macho crap that got thrown around in the locker room. All the teasing and jokes. How did he deal with it? Suddenly, I'm kind of embarrassed about my reaction when I got called _fag_. I'd stormed out of there like it was the worst thing in the world. Had Kenny been there? I couldn't remember. I hoped not.

'I haven't told anyone on the team. Russ, either. Although I'm pretty sure Dwayne knows, and he's pretending he doesn't.'

'I won't tell anyone. I swear.'

Poor Kenny. I pictured him standing in the back of the locker room that day, watching with his silent secret.

'I told him that. I asked him yesterday if I could tell you. He said if Russ thought if it was a good idea, it was ok.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. He likes you.' She squeezed my hand. 'They both do. They know you can be trusted.'

Right then, I make up my mind that no one will ever mess with Kenny when I'm around. So maybe I'm not exactly intimidating, but I just won't let it happen. I can't imagine dealing with what he must be going through.

'I'll keep an eye on him,' I promised Jules. 'If he ever needs help. I'll look after him.'

She stopped walking. I took one extra step, so we were standing toe to toe, hands clasped together.

Julie wrapped her arms around my neck, and I leaned my forehead on hers, pulling her in close.

'I love you,' she told me suddenly. 'You know that, right?'

'Yes. I know.'

When she holds me like this, whispers to me with deep sincerity in her eyes, I feel ten foot tall and bulletproof. She's in my corner, and I'm in hers, and it's just us against the world.

'I told them you'd want to help. You're the best, Adam.'

I smiled, kissing the corner of her mouth. 'The best what?' I teased gently. I know she'll remember the day months ago, the two of us sitting in the dark locker room.

'The best guy,' she whispered up. 'You are.'

I'm not. I know it. Everyone knows it. Everyone except Jules. For some reason, she truly believes that I am the best choice she could make.

'You know how I feel about you, Jul,' I whispered back softly.

She closed her lovely green eyes, lifting her face so I can trail an outline of tiny kisses around her mouth. She knows.

'Can we go to your room for a little while?' I asked.

Dad's picking me up in twenty-two minutes. That gives us about seventeen minutes to be alone. Just to have her to myself, for a few private moments - it's all I want.

She opens her eyes. 'Let's go.'

**Next chapter – everything goes kaboom...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Captain Albatross: I know, right? Kenny's not going to be a big part of the story, it just kinda occurred to me, so I added that little scene. Hmm, I wonder in what way you imagined things might go boom? Now I'm intrigued!**

**This chapter is moving forward a few weeks from the last, and it's quite a bit more adult, so be warned in advance. **

**Chapter Nine**

**Adam's POV**

The late afternoon sun was blissful. It warmed the house with a soft, lazy glow. The radio playing was a gentle buzz, all was still and warm and languid in my bedroom.

Perfect for alone time with my girl.

We'd started out studying in the library, but Julie kept flicking these cheeky little glances at me under her long lashes and pretending she hadn't, and I'd decided her fingers were better designed for me to nibble on than for writing about science, and finally we'd both given up trying to concentrate and agreed a nice long study break was necessary if we were going to get anything done today.

So it was up to my room, where we'd settled in on the bed, shed some clothes to get nice and comfortable.

I rested my head on the warmth of her smooth abdomen, idly running my fingertips up and down the curve of her bare legs, watching her skin as it went goosepimply. Her underwear today was white, with a pink lace edge and a tiny little bow.

That looked interesting, so I shifted slightly, pressed a slow line of kisses along the tempting edge of that lace. Her skin was luscious under my mouth.

'Careful...' she murmured, but I heard the laughter in her voice.

I pressed my face down to her tummy, pretending to hide in shame.

Our unspoken rule is _nothing below the waist_. These lazy afternoons were ours alone, just to enjoy each other, to curl up and kiss until her lips were swollen. Clothing was optional. Sometimes I'd lie behind her, move her hair aside over her shoulders and stroke long, slow lines down her bare back until she was almost purring in contentment.

But I like her long legs, too, and her little underwear, and we've never crossed the line. Yet.

'Just making sure all's well at the border.'

A soft laugh bubbles from her lips, and I feel the vibrations through her body under my face.

I settled back down, curled my arm around her thighs possessively and closed my eyes to enjoy the bliss of having her all to myself. Just us, nothing needing to be said, just the peace we shared for an hour or so whenever we could. Her fingers combed through my hair with the softest touch, and I could tell from the slow rhythm of her breathing that my Jules was totally relaxed.

Her stomach contracted suddenly, and I heard her quick, sharp gasp.

'What's wrong?' I glanced up at her, but she was tensed up, staring at the door with dismay.

My father was standing in the doorway.

I froze for a sickening moment as the world came crashing down.

'Dad!' I jumped up the bed, covering Jules with my arm. 'Jesus - what are you doing here!'

His hard gaze moved from Julie to me, and for once, his eyes aren't cold. They're livid.

'As I recall, this is still my house. What in the hell do you think you're doing?' he demanded, low and furious.

'Can you _please_ just get out!'

'I-'

'_GET OUT_!' I shouted, my anger growing as he continued to stand there, violating our perfect private moment with his presence. Julie flinched a little at my voice. It occurs to me on some level that she's never heard me scream at anyone before today.

She slid out from under me silently, turning her back on us to reach for her clothes on the other side of the bed. Her thin lacy camisole covers a little of her at least, but only a little, and she huddles over to try and cover up.

I've never seen my father so mad, radiating fury even though he's completely still. There's such derision in his eyes when he looks at me that I have to look away.

His gaze lands on Julie, and he gives her exposed back the filthiest look I have ever seen. I want to defend her, hide her away somewhere he can't see her but at least she's pulling her shirt on and can't see-

She looked up. Her eyes widened and she froze in the look of pure contempt on my father's face.

She gets the message he sends her loud and clear through his narrowed eyes.

'Just get out.' My voice comes out a whisper. I climbed over the bed to pull Jules close to me, sheltering her in my arms.

It takes him a moment to speak. 'You have two minutes to get downstairs.'

Julie started to cry softly as the door closed.

'Shhh, baby. It's ok.' I kissed her hair, pulling her to me tight.

'Oh, my god...'

'It's ok.'

It was anything but ok.

I'd been trying to find the right moment, when Dad was in a really good mood, to bring up the subject that I'd kind of had a girlfriend for several months now that I'd like my parents to meet. I'd talked to Jon about it, and he'd advised me in no uncertain terms to keep my mouth shut until he'd had a chance to bring up the subject with Dad first, kind of ease him into it.

Jules had been so patient, because she understood what dealing with my father was like. But she'd wanted to meet them. She'd wanted them to like her.

'You saw - the way he looked at me?' Julie looked up, devastated, her lovely green eyes filled with unshed tears. 'He _hates_ me.'

'No, sweetie, he doesn't.'

He did.

'He hates me...' she pressed her palms to her eyes, distraught.

'I don't care._ I _love you.' I cupped her cheek in one hand, kissed her hard. She took a deep breath. 'I love you. C'mon, let's get out of here.'

I helped her back into her clothes, tried to soothe her with soft words. Her quiet sobs slowed, but they didn't quite stop. As much as I tried, I couldn't stop her crying. She was too humiliated.

I can feel that something's about to end today.

I am not going to let it be me and Julie.

I took her hand, gave her one more long, tight hug and we walked downstairs together slowly to face the music.

Dad was in the front hallway, his back to us.

When he turned finally, his face is as hard and cold as I've ever seen him.

We stood before him, hand in hand, for a good minute, like we were facing off.

Finally, I couldn't take the silence anymore. I tried diplomacy.

'Uh – Dad, this is my girlfriend. Julie. Look, I'm sorry I haven't introduced you formally, but – you remember her from school and stuff, and all the hockey games...'

No response. He just stared at me. Julie bit her lip, glancing up at me.

'I mean, I really wanted you and Mom to meet her - we've just all been busy, there hasn't been a good opportunity...'

'I can see how busy you've been.'

Julie tensed up. I pulled her closer, my arm around her shoulders.

'Look, it's not what it looks like, we weren't – we were just studying-'

'Studying.'

'Yeah. We were taking a break.'

'Oh, _please_.' Dad looked disgusted. 'Call this girl a taxi and get up to your room now.'

I heard Julie suck in her breath.

'Don't talk to her like that.' I keep my voice controlled.

His eyebrows raised in derision. 'I beg your pardon? Did you not hear me, Adam?'

'No, you don't talk to us like she's not in the room. Her name's Julie. She's my girlfriend. She can hear you, ok? She's standing right here.'

There's no way this is going to end well. Not if he's determined to keep ignoring everything that's important to me.

He regarded me coldly, and then his gaze fell to Julie.

'Julie, is it?'

My stomach goes cold. I don't want Dad talking to Julie. She's quiet and still next to me, just holding her composure together.

Jules nodded fast, tucking her hair back nervously. 'Yes, Mr Banks,' she replied softly. I rubbed her back. 'I'm really sorry... I should just go.' She looked up to me, her eyes worried, and I shook my head slowly. This wasn't her fault, any of it. She had no cause to apologize.

'No, you don't need to-'

'Yes, it's definitely time for you to leave. Get whatever you came here with and you can wait out front for the taxi.'

My father's tone is bitterly polite, but it's clear he expects Julie to get the hell out of his house.

I tightened my arm around her. 'No fucking _way_.'

Julie looked up at me, startled.

'_Adam_-' Dad starts furiously.

'No, she doesn't take orders from you! I'm not going to let you treat her like that, you don't even know her! Have some respect!'

Maybe I have to toe the line, do as I'm told, jump through whatever hoop Dad's holding out today, but Julie is different. My father doesn't own her, he has no right to tell her what to do. If he thinks I'm going to watch him send her out into the street in shame, today he's going to have to learn that for once he's wrong.

'Oh, you want to talk about respect, son? I come home, my house is a pigsty, and my son is upstairs doing who the hell knows what with some goddamn girl I've never laid eyes on before-'

'You. Have. Met. Her,' I bit off through gritted teeth. I don't want Julie to hear this, but there's no avoiding it now. 'You've met her. Several times. You just didn't bother to remember. I guess you'll remember her this time though, right, Dad? Or will you just keep pretending that anyone who matters to me doesn't matter to you?'

My father took a step closer. I wanted to take one backwards, but I stand my ground. We both do.

'Unfortunately, I think it's something I'll never forget of either of you.'

His voice is like acid.

I glanced down at Jules. She's locked protectively in my arm while my dad and I yell at each other, her fingers still entwined tightly in mine for support. Support both of us need.

As long as I have her, I'll have everything I need. The thought calms me down enough to realize I need to get her out from this horrible, toxic situation.

'I'm sorry, Jules.' I touched my lips to her forehead. 'C'mon, let's get out of here. I'll take you home now.'

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mess everything up,' she whispered.

'No, you don't have to apologize for anything. I'm coming with you.'

'Just where the hell do you think you're going?'

I looked back to my dad. 'We're leaving.'

'No, Adam, _she_ is leaving. _You_ are staying. You are going to march straight back to your room, where you're going to have plenty of time to think about how you've blown your privileges for the rest of the year.'

I shook my head in disbelief. 'You really believe that I'm just going to kick my girl out onto the street? Because you said so?'

'I _believe_ you will show her to the door, right now, and for the last time, son, I'm telling you to _get upstairs_. One more word, Adam. Just try me.'

'I'm not going anywhere without Jules. She's not a goddamn car or phone you can take away when you want. _She_ belongs with _me_. You cannot take her away,' I emphasized. 'And anywhere she goes, that's where I'm at.'

'You leave this house with that girl and you can find somewhere else to sleep from now on.'

He's dead serious.

'Fine. I'll do that.'

I am, too. I feel nothing at the thought of leaving this house.

'Adam.' Julie's tears have dried. 'I don't want to cause problems for you. I should just go.'

'You're not the problem.' I nudged her face gently. 'You're perfect. Don't listen to him.'

I looked back at my father.

'Last chance,' he told me, his eyes hard.

'I'm going.'

When he speaks, his voice is low and final. 'You've made your choice. You have five minutes to get out of this house.'

I held his gaze for a long moment. No one moved. I squeezed Julie's hand and together we ran back upstairs.

I pulled out the biggest duffel bag I owned and threw it on the bed.

'What should I do?'

'Don't worry.' I gave Julie a quick, hard hug. 'Let's get the hell out of here. Can you grab some things from the bathroom for me, baby?'

She nodded quickly and darted inside the ensuite bathroom to my room. I can hear her throwing items into a bag.

Running on adrenaline, I opened drawers and grabbed a handful of clothes from each. Socks, boxers, shirts, a few jeans and pants, my big, warm sweater. _What else_? My team photo on the dresser went into the bag.

Think practical. _Money_. I raced to the built-in cupboard, pried up the loose floorboard at the back. A thick roll of bills was safely stuffed inside a baggie. My little stash of cash. My allowance covered all my expenses, plus I had access to a bank account if I needed any extra. My little roll of money had grown over the last couple of years from here and there, the birthday money from my grandparents and uncles, leftover allowance, work for Jon, any other cash that happened to come my way. I hadn't really known what I was saving it for.

Now I did.

Julie appeared from the bathroom and tucked the bag she'd filled with toiletries into the duffel. I slipped the money into one of my sneakers, shoved the sneakers in the duffel and zipped it tight.

'You ready?' I asked Jules, pulling on a hoodie jacket.

'Are you?' Her eyes are worried.

I looked at Julie. All her long hair loose and dishevelled, her clothes hastily pulled on. Her cheeks were flushed, stained with faint tear tracks. My girl was so beautiful it hurt.

I'd decided long ago that no one was taking Julie from me. No one.

I was ready to prove it.

'Definitely.' I smiled at Julie, all my worries falling away for one sweet moment. We'd be fine as long as we were together.

She even smiled back a little. She held out her hand to me.

I took her hand, slung the duffel over my shoulder and we crept back to the stairs together.

I glanced down cautiously. I couldn't see Dad anywhere in the front hall.

'Ok,' I whispered to Jules. 'Straight out the door. We'll grab our skates on the way and we'll put them once we're out of the driveway.'

'Ok,' she breathed, squeezing my hand hard.

There was no point pretending we weren't both scared shitless of my father.

We jogged downstairs, and were nearly at the door when Julie stopped dead with a look of dismay.

'Our books...'

Our chem homework. It was still all lying on the long table in the study. We needed those books for the next day of school.

I bit my lip, wondering if I should send Jules outside to wait in relative safety while I grabbed our stuff. No. She met my eyes. We were in this together.

'Alright.'

We made our way cautiously back to the study. I winced inwardly at the thought of Dad seeing it earlier – our stuff was casually strewn all over the table. Julie picked up her bag off the floor and we started stuffing papers and textbooks inside.

'Don't you even _think_ about taking that car.'

We both jumped a mile. Dad was in the doorway behind us. _Perfect_.

'I wasn't going to touch the car.' I crammed the last of the study materials into my own backpack, picked up the bags and held out my hand to Jules. It was time to go. I smiled at her encouragingly. She looked so nervous again, and I hated it.

There was only one door. My father was standing in it. We had to go past him.

'So... we're leaving now.'

Silence.

I waited a beat. 'Excuse me.'

He didn't budge.

'_Excuse me_.'

Dad looked blankly from me to Julie. She gripped my hand and met his eyes steadily.

_There's my girl. _

Enough of this. I took a big step forward, so Dad had to step back suddenly, and we strode straight to the front door. I could feel his eyes burning a hole in our backs, but we didn't stop.

Out the door, grabbed our rollerblades off the front porch, down the driveway we went.

It occurred to me that in a surreal way, I had now exactly what I'd been treasuring had an hour ago.

_Just me and my girl._

Nothing else. Only what I really needed.

'I can't believe you left,' Julie told me quietly, as we stopped on the sidewalk to swap our sneakers for rollerblades. Even skating, it was a long way back to Eden Hall.

'You didn't think I'd do it?'

'It's your home, Adam.' She still sounds worried. 'Your family.'

I looked at Julie as I straightened up, arranging my backpack and the duffel that held everything I now owned over my shoulder.

'No,' was all I said.

I knew she'd know what I meant.

Jules always did.

We left the street together.

**Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Finally finished the new chapter - thanks for your patience, my lovely girls and boys. LOL kidding - there's no boys here! (If you're a dude, please pm me to arrange our immediate marriage.)**

**Captain Albatross: Thanks for reviewing so fast! I love getting your reviews. Glad you liked the way it played out. Plenty more drama upcoming...**

**Steph: Aw, you're awesome! Wish I could update every second day for you! But I'm picky as hell so it takes me a little longer ;) thanks for your encouragement.**

**Luv990696luv: Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm really pleased you like how Adam is evolving, and he definitely isn't done yet. Hope you enjoy the new update.**

**HealingSpringWaters: Thanks for your input on both Adam and Julie, she's one of my all-time faves, so it was really great to hear that you thought it was true to her character.**

**I honestly appreciate the time you guys take to write me such thoughtful reviews. You guys rock.**

**On with the show...**

**Charlie's POV**

Spaghetti Bolognese. My all-time favorite. Steaming pasta with a huge bowl of rich, meaty sauce and a pound of melty cheese. Hot, crusty loaves of garlic bread. A big bowl of crispy salad with loads of tomatoes and oodles of grated parmesan.

'Mom, did I mention lately that I love you?' I asked seriously as I sat at the kitchen table.

My mom smiled proudly at me as she stuck a pair of tongs in the salad and joined me at the table. It was just the two of us tonight, as Ryan was working a double shift. Life was pretty sweet.

I stuck my fork in and spooled myself up a big forkful of 'sketti goodness.

There was a soft knock on the front door of our house.

Yes, we actually had ourselves a little house these days, now that we lived with my stepfather. It was still only two bedrooms, but it was a house with a yard no less. First time we'd ever lived anywhere but an apartment. I guess there was the occasional perk of a two-income family.

'Ah, hell.' I rolled my eyes at the unwelcome interruption.

'Charlie...' Mom sighed resignedly, putting her fork down.

'Sorry, sorry. No, sit down. I've got this.' I jumped up, leaving my dinner reluctantly. Mom had worked all day before cooking up my favourite dinner. I could at least get the stupid door for her.

I opened it up, thinking up a good line for the neighbour or salesman or religious nut I'd no doubt lurking behind it.

There was a flight of six steps up to our front porch. Adam Banks and Julie Gaffney were waiting at the bottom of the stairs, huddled together.

'Hey...' I greeted my friends, kind of confused.

Adam had his arm around Julie tightly, protecting her from the chilly evening air. His face was pinched and serious. Her eyes were swollen.

Adam sounded even more serious than usual. 'I'm so sorry to bother you guys.'

'It's fine, Adam... what's going on? Come on, come on in.' I held the door open.

He didn't move from where they stood, burying his face in Julie's hair.

I looked to Julie for answers, totally confused.

She reached up to rub Adam's neck soothingly. 'His dad kicked him out of the house,' she told me in her quiet voice.

'What? Oh, no way.' I jogged down the stairs, looking from Jules to Adam. He still hadn't moved. 'Adam? You ok, man?'

'No, I don't care.' Adam's voice came out muffled. When he lifted his head, his eyes were wet but determined. 'I don't care at all, it's just we skated all the stupid way back to school to try and get me a dorm room, and my dad already had called before we got there and told them he wouldn't give permission for me to live on campus.'

'Oh, hell.' I didn't think my stepdad was any prize, but Adam's dad was, and had always been, a total dick.

'I'm sorry to show up like this. Charlie, I've got nowhere to go.'

'Yeah, you do.' I took the big duffel bag off his arm. Shit, he looked upset. I clapped him on the back. 'Adam, relax. Come inside.' I leaned back so I could see Julie. 'Both of you. Get in here.'

They followed me up the stairs silently.

Mom was leaning into the front hall to see why I was taking so long. I leaned over to her. 'Adam's dad kicked him out,' I told her quietly. 'Can he stay with us for now?'

Mom looked at Adam, caught off guard. I could see what she was thinking. _Adam Banks, the world's most perfect teenager? Why on earth would _he_ get thrown out? _ 'Well, of course. Of course he can stay,' she recovered admirably. 'You kids come on in quick, it's freezing outside.'

'Thanks,' Adam replied quietly, ushering Julie in before him.

Mom gestured to the lounge room, and they took a seat together on the sofa. I noticed Julie exhaled tiredly as they sat back, closing her eyes for a second, and Adam slipped his arm back around her.

Mom and I perched on the armchairs, our dinner forgotten for now.

'I'll get you guys something to eat,' Mom offered tactfully.

'No, don't worry. Thank you. We're fine.'

I leaned on my knees curiously. So Mom got all the tact in the family. I was _dying_ of curiosity. 'Ok, sooo... what the hell happened?'

Adam shook his head. 'Dad kicked me out, and I couldn't get a room at school, so... we came here.'

'Yeah, Banksie, I got that part. Why would he kick you out?'

Adam hesitated, looking away.

Julie raised her hand with a quick, wry smile. 'Me.'

'It wasn't you, Jul,' Adam protested. 'It would have happened eventually.'

'It's ok, Adam. It was me. We both know it.' Julie laid her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. It seemed to me like she was trying to comfort him more than herself. 'Adam's dad kind of caught us hanging out at his house, and he didn't know me, so...'

'He threw Adam out for having a friend over?' Mom was incredulous.

'No. He threw me out because I wouldn't let him kick Jules into the street. So we left, and then when we got back to school, they called him again from the office to see if he'd change his mind about the room. He wanted to speak to me.'

Adam went silent.

'That didn't go so well,' I deduced unnecessarily.

'Not really. I can't go home unless I come up with an apology and... I promise not to see Julie anymore.'

'Ah. So, we won't be getting rid of you anytime soon.'

He smiled at me a little for the first time. 'Not really.'

I looked cheerfully at Mom. 'Well, Mom, I'm thinking he'll be pretty hopeless with the housework, but look at the kid. We'll have him chopping wood for the next ten years. And slave labor is so hard to come by these days.'

My mom smiled warmly at Adam. 'You're welcome here as long as you need, Adam.'

'Thank you. I'm really sorry to turn up and impose on you like this.'

'It's no trouble. I'm glad you had somewhere to turn to. Uh...' Mom looked from Adam to Julie. 'Is this a package deal?' she asked carefully.

They both looked at her blankly, then Julie's eyes widened in realization. 'Oh. Oh, no, I'll go home. Back to the dorms, I mean.'

Mom held up her hands. 'No problem. Just checking. Look, there's no point in letting dinner get cold. Everyone up to the table, right now.'

**Casey's thoughts**

Adam and Julie look so tired. They're not eating much. He's worried about imposing on us, and she's worried about him. Should I call the school, maybe Orion? Should I call Phil Banks, let him know Adam's here? Honestly I'm not even sure I care to put his mind at ease. It's not right to leave your kid without a roof over his head and no concern as to where he'll end up. I'll ask Adam if he wants to call home. Imagine throwing your kid out because he had a girlfriend over. Something's not quite adding up here. Forbidding Adam to see Julie? What's so wrong with Julie? I'm going to talk to her. There's more to this then they're letting on in front of me.

**After dinner**

'Adam, why don't you take your things upstairs. Charlie, grab him some sheets and make up the sofa in your room for him.'

'Alright.' The two left the room. Adam glanced at Julie before he left, and she sent him a quick, reassuring wink.

**Charlie's room**

'Don't worry, Adam, it'll blow over in a day or two. He'll get tired of having no one to yell at and let you come home.'

'I'm not going back there.'

Adam's voice had an air of quiet finality.

Charlie hesitated, straightening the sheet on the sofa that would have to do for Adam's bed. 'You know you're welcome here, man, but... you kinda live there.'

Adam met Charlie's eyes. 'I will not live under his roof again,' he stated. 'Ever.'

'So it was pretty bad.'

'You could say that.'

'So... can I ask...'

Adam exhaled hard, finding a change of clothes from his duffel. He guessed Charlie was due an explanation, but he didn't want to share any of the details of that afternoon. 'We were up in my bedroom, _not_ having sex, and he just walked right in and assumed that we were.'

'Oh.' Right to the point, there. 'So why would he assume...'

'Because Jules wasn't wearing much,' Adam explained shortly. He shook his head. 'You should have seen the look he gave her.'

'Oh, I've seen your Dad's looks, don't forget. He's got quite a range.'

Adam demonstrated.

'Ok, not that one. Please stop doing that. I feel like you're going to murder me.'

'He may as well have called her a filthy little slut, Charlie,' Adam muttered vehemently. He zipped the bag shut hard. 'That's exactly how he looked at her. That's how he made her feel.'

He didn't know how soon he'd forgot the shocked look on Julie's face when she'd seen Phillip's opinion of her written all over his face. The whole thing twisted in his stomach every time he thought about it.

'It didn't have to happen like it did. It was his choice. I don't care what he says, I'm not going back there.'

Charlie nodded. 'So... what're you going to do?'

'I have no idea.'

**In the kitchen**

'I'll do the dishes,' Julie offered, starting to stand.

'No, let's just sit for a minute.' Casey brought the jug of lemonade back to the table with her, topping up their glasses. She took her seat again, lacing her fingers under her chin and surveying Julie shrewdly.

What a pretty girl she was. She was well dressed, she seemed well brought up. Charlie had told her that Adam and Julie were like an old married couple, ditching movie nights with the team in favor of studying together.

So why on earth would Phil Banks be so set against her?

'Kind of a big day for you guys.'

Julie nodded slowly. 'Thank you so much for letting Adam stay here.'

'Well, he's a great kid.' Casey sipped her drink. 'He cares about you a lot,' she noted quietly. 'That's obvious.'

Julie smiled down at the table. 'Yeah, he is great. I kinda like him, too.'

'Ok, hon. Why don't you tell me exactly what happened today?'

Julie eyed Charlie's red-haired mother warily. 'Um... there's not much else to tell.'

'You said Adam's dad caught you guys just hanging out?' Casey asked.

'Um, yeah. Well, we went over there to study in peace...'

Casey waited patiently.

'But – I guess we didn't think anyone else was going to be home, so... we were sort of having some private time, and Adam's dad kind of walked in on us.'

'Ah.' Casey put a lot of understanding into the one syllable, and Julie's cheeks flushed.

'We weren't doing anything bad. Just cuddling. But it must have looked worse then it really was...'

'Ok. It's ok, Julie. Now, I want to ask you something personal.'

Julie bit her lip. 'Ok...'

Casey leaned forward. 'Has Mom talked to you about contraception at all?'

Julie stared blankly into Casey's warm, caring eyes. It was such a 'mom thing' to do. Have the talk about boys, and sex, and respect, and being safe. Her mother, in their weekly phone calls, had never talked to her about anything deeper then her school assignments and the boys' soccer games.

She barely even knew Casey, and she'd already surpassed her own mother in terms of concern for her.

Unexpectedly, Julie's eyes welled up and she took a long, deep breath, looking away.

'Oh, no, no.' Casey reached over, covering Julie's hand with her own. 'I don't mean to upset you, honey. I'm not accusing you guys of anything. I just think it's important for you to have all the information for when you might need it.'

'No, I'm sorry. God. It's just been a really long day.' Julie tried to smile, mortified at herself as she wiped at her eyes hard. Now she'd teared up twice in the same day, and it was such a stupid thing to cry over. 'No. Um, my mom... isn't really...'

She looked so lost, Casey was sorry she hadn't waited to raise the subject.

'Around.'

'Oh.' _Shoot. Nice work, Mom of the Year_, Casey mentally congratulated herself. 'Maybe... your aunt? Grandma? No one's... had a chance to talk to you...'

Julie shook her head silently, studying the wood grain of the table.

Casey nodded firmly. 'Ok. Well, then, I think it would be a good idea for you and me to go down to Family Planning and have an appointment.'

'Mom!' Charlie howled in horror from the doorway, clapping a hand over his eyes.

'What?'

'Do you _have_ to? Really?'

Casey twisted to face her son, annoyed. 'Well, _Charlie_, I'd hate to see an accident happen because no one took the time to inform her!'

'Mom, it's Julie. She's _smart_. She's not going to get knocked up in high school like an idiot-'

Casey's eyes narrowed dangerously.

'Uh...' Charlie grimaced, retreating. 'I'll... go find Adam a towel.'

When Casey looked up from a long, well-deserved eye-roll, Adam was leaning over Julie's chair.

'I'm fine, Adam, don't worry.' Julie wiped her eyes carefully, attempting to laugh it off. He didn't need to worry about her and her overactive tear ducts on top of everything else. 'It's just been a weird day. I should probably get going.'

Adam looked up at Charlie's mother like he was facing a firing squad. Casey smiled at him. He was just the sweetest kid. 'It's fine, Adam. I'll drive her home. Don't worry, I'm not going to kick her onto the street either,' she teased gently.

'No, it's not that.' Adam swallowed hard. 'It's – I know you're already doing so much for me, and I appreciate it... but I have to ask you one more favor.'

He rested his hands on Julie's shoulders, hovering over her nervously.

'Please, can she stay with me tonight?' he blurted out. 'Just for tonight. And not... together... I just want to know she's somewhere close by.'

'Oh, Adam...' Casey bit her lip. She didn't want to be the bad guy, but she couldn't see how Adam's request was going to work.

Adam collapsed into the chair next to Julie's with a thump, resting his head on his hands. He was bone weary. The adrenaline had burned out around the same time he'd realized he'd have to go begging for a place to sleep tonight, just like his father had intended. He should have just waited until dark, when Julie could sneak him into her room, but he'd been stupid enough to go straight to the office and after all the drama that had ensued there, there was no way they wouldn't have checked up on Julie tonight.

So he'd picked up his bags again and decided to skate to Charlie's house, and Julie wouldn't let him go alone. To be honest, he hadn't even asked her to stay at school. He'd just dragged her along, the whole freezing trip to Charlie's house. The afternoon sun was long gone and her winter jacket didn't look warm enough to him. Why hadn't he just bought her a new jacket yesterday?

And now he was dreading the moment he had to say goodbye to her.

When he looked up at Casey, his eyes were tired and unfocused. 'I know it's too much to ask and I'm really sorry, I screw everything up, I just can't go back there and pretend that I don't love her and tomorrow I know he'll show up at school and we'll have to do this all again... I just kind of need her right now...'

'Adam, it's ok...' Julie shot to her feet and leant over Adam. He wouldn't look up, trying to compose himself. 'Don't worry.' She pressed a soft kiss to his temple. 'Don't worry, it'll be ok,' she reassured him quietly.

'It's not ok.' He pulled Julie onto his lap abruptly, hid his face in her loose blonde locks. 'It's not fair, you shouldn't have to put up with all this crap,' he whispered intently. 'You always have to deal with my stupid family problems.'

'It's _our_ problem, not yours. But it'll be ok, I promise. You're just tired, it seems worse then it is,' she whispered back. If the situation was unfair on anyone, it was Adam. Julie still had a place to go, her little sanctuary at in the dorms waiting, her bed, all her little things in place.

He was the one who'd refused to see her kicked out, and had been left with nothing as a reward.

'No one thinks I deserve you anyway.'

Julie closed her eyes. God, he was going to make her cry again. He needed her to be strong right now. They'd been in relatively good spirits when they got back to school, when he was still feeling the adrenaline from finally standing up to his dad, and she'd never been more in love with him for it.

Despite the horrible events of the afternoon, they'd been riding high on the possibility that Adam would get a dorm room and he'd be living only a few minutes away from her, and they'd both fallen back down to earth when they realized Adam's father was never going to just let them be.

'Don't say that. Shhh.'

She pulled back, placed her cool hands on Adam's hot cheeks. 'I love you,' she told him, her voice low but firm and her gaze locked on his. 'No one else's opinion matters, you know that. And we're going to be ok. You just need some sleep, and then you'll come to school tomorrow and I'll be waiting there for you, first thing. Ok?' she asked softly, ran her fingers back through his hair.

It wasn't ok to Adam. He knew he was being an ungrateful brat in front of Charlie and his mom, but he just didn't want to be without Julie tonight.

'Adam.' He almost jumped when he felt a light touch on his wrist. Casey was leaning right over the table, trying to get his attention. 'Hey. Let's just all take a breath and try to relax. Look, I'm going to call the office. If they say Julie can stay over here, she can stay,' she promised intently. She didn't know where exactly she was going to keep three teenagers overnight, let alone convince whoever needed convincing at Eden Hall that Julie should be permitted an impromptu overnight absence, but she would get it done somehow.

'Thank you.' Adam's eyes closed in relief. 'I'm sorry.'

Casey nodded seriously as she got up to find the phone.

Charlie hovered in the kitchen doorway, watching his friends discreetly. They were just sitting together, no big deal, but the way they held onto each other... somehow it seemed too intimate to intrude.

Huh. Well, this was not exactly how he'd imagined his Thursday night proceeding.

He heard his mom on the phone.

'Lyndall, hi, it's Casey. Good, honey, how are you? Look, I have a couple of the kids here – that's right, Adam and Julie – how did you – oh, of course, you were there today. You spoke to Phillip?' A pause. 'Was it bad?' Another pause. 'Oh, hell.' She sounded a lot like Charlie. 'I'm sorry, but that man is _such_ a pain in the ass.'

Casey's voice wasn't quite as discreet as usual once she got annoyed, and it carried through to the kitchen. Suddenly, Charlie, Adam and Julie were all shaking with silent laughter.

It felt good to laugh, even at something so small. Adam let his head drop back, as much in relief as anything else. When he sat up back, Julie was smiling again and Charlie was chuckling into his fist.

'Your mom is the coolest,' Adam admitted, shaking his head. 'Absolutely.'

'She is _awesome_,' Julie agreed, turning to grin at Charlie.

'Oh, come on...' Charlie flipped his hand at them in an aw-shucks gesture. 'Well, yeah. What can I say, Banksie?' he shrugged. 'You got the money, I got the good parent.'

'Yeah, is it too late to trade?'

'What, are you kidding me? You're broke as hell now.'

That set them off again.

'Ok.' Casey appeared next to her son in the doorway. She looked at each of the giggling teenagers and raised an incredulous eyebrow.

'How'd you go, Mom?' Charlie tried to calm down.

'Well. We're lucky I know Lyndall, and she knows me. Yes, Julie may stay the night. One night,' Casey cautioned, holding up a finger. 'And let's not start campaigning for two.'

'Thank you so much-'

'Oh, cork it, Adam.' Casey rolled her eyes in good-natured exasperation. 'Tomorrow I'm going to make you two signs to hang around your neck, one that says _thank you_ and one for _I'm sorry_. It'll save your breath. Of course, that means we'll probably never hear from you again...'

Adam smiled, opened his mouth to say sorry, and stopped. 'Well... I hope it isn't too much of a pain in the ass for you,' he murmured softly. He met Julie's eyes and couldn't stop the laugh.

Due to the fact that Charlie's stepfather would be getting home around 2am, it was decided that Adam and Julie would camp out with Charlie. Julie was re-assigned to the sofa and Adam took the airbed, set up on the floor.

'_You're the chaperone, Charlie,' his mom had told him seriously, pulling him aside. 'It's ok for your friends to stay over, but it's not a party. I need you to be the responsible one here.'_

Fine with Charlie. He didn't see either Adam or Julie as the exhibitionist types, so chances were they could all sleep easy knowing there was no teenage impregnating happening at the end of his bed.

Although - Adam's description of the afternoon had sounded somewhat less then completely innocent.

Julie climbed into her 'bed' on the sofa, sliding between the sheet and the blanket. She'd borrowed a t-shirt and sweatpants from Charlie to sleep in. He was actually quite the gracious host. He'd kept the questioning to a minimum, considering. She was grateful for that.

Adam stretched out as much as he could manage on the thin airbed. He could have used another three inches of mattress, but he wasn't complaining. Charlie and Casey had come through big time for him. He owed them large.

'Comfy?' he asked Julie quietly.

'Mmm, it's not bad,' she murmured, hiding a smile. She doubted Adam would fit any better on the sofa then he did on the air mattress. 'You?'

'Luxurious.'

'Yeah, it looks like.'

She smiled down, touched her fingertip to her lips and reached down to pat it gently on Adam's mouth.

As they were Casey's guests, and she was obviously more then a little worried about the two of them sleeping in the same room, it seemed like the appropriate goodnight kiss.

Adam took Julie's hand and kissed her fingers softly. He folded his hand around hers and held it to his chest, settling in for the night.

Charlie jumped on his bed and turned out the lamp. 'Night, guys.'

'Night,' they chorused back softly.

Silence for a moment.

'Nooooo hanky panky, now...'

Julie giggled. She knew Charlie couldn't let the opportunity pass.

'I'll try to restrain myself,' she promised, pleased when she heard a snicker from the air mattress.

'See that you do, missy. I don't want to have to come down there.'

'Actually, neither do we,' Adam's voice reassured Charlie wryly.

During the night, Julie woke up and blinked in confusion, disoriented.

It was freezing cold. She pulled the blanket tighter around her body, but the chill seemed to creep in anyway.

She felt, rather then heard, the movement next to her.

'Are you awake?' she whispered as softly as possible, leaning over the sofa a little.

'Yeah,' came Adam's soft reply.

'Can't sleep?'

Another pause.

'This stupid damn mattress has deflated on me.'

Julie clapped a hand over her mouth to stop the giggle. She leaned over, and could just make out Adam on the floor.

He held open the edge of his sleeping bag to her invitingly.

She shouldn't do it. She really shouldn't.

Julie scrambled down and was in the sleeping bag in moments.

They reached for each other almost frantically. He drew her close, and she sighed softly as she was enveloped in his warmth, the strength in his embrace that made her feel safe and peaceful.

He kissed her, over and over.

'Do not kiss me,' she breathed.

Adam paused. 'Why?'

'Too dangerous. I can't be responsible right...'

He kissed her anyway, and she kissed him back hungrily, curling her arm around his neck.

'Now.'

Adam smiled against Julie's soft lips, lifting her slightly against him so she didn't have to feel too much of the hard floor that his back was resting on.

She was right. Completely right. It was irresponsible.

'Stay with me anyway,' he whispered.

She wasn't going anywhere.

**Please review ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Yeah. So, I've had to ignore this piece pretty much the whole year. I've been studying and I have a job and a damn fine new dude who takes up a lot of my time. Not that I'm complaining.

But now I'm back.

Hope you are, too.

Thanks to all the awesomes who reviewed the last chapter.

Just to get started, and for something completely different, and because I feel like it - shall we check in with young Mr Portman first?

**General POV**

The bell had rung, and class was over. He was nearly out the door before Ms Leighton's voice rang out, clear and sharp.

'Dean. Where's your assignment?'

_Shit..._

'Ah, left it in my locker.' Dean Portman smiled, blank and innocent. 'I'll go get it.'

'Uh-uh. I'm not falling for that again. Do you have anything right here, right now, written on a piece of paper to show me?'

Portman looked up at the ceiling for an answer. He shook his head slowly.

'Ok.' The teacher gestured back towards the classroom. 'Have a seat.'

'What?'

'Obviously if I want an essay from you, I have to keep you where I can see you until I get it. Now sit down.'

Portman threw his head back and hissed a sigh of major aggravation, throwing himself into the closest chair. He looked up as a piece of paper and a perfectly sharpened pencil were slapped in front of him.

'Now write. Five hundred words. On the topic of loss. Go.'

'_Five hundred_?' he protested.

'Same as everyone else who wrote theirs and handed it in on time. Go.'

'Can I at least have a pen-'

'The longer you procrastinate, the less lunch you'll be eating.'

Portman hunched over the desk. Five hundred words? Like he was getting any lunch today.

He sighed. He tapped his pencil. He sighed again, louder.

'You can't just cut me some slack and give me an extension-'

'Write, Dean.'

Another dismayed sigh.

_What I Lost by Dean Portman._

Six words down. Four hundred ninety-six to go.

Ok, think. What had he lost? _Hockey games_. Lame. _His grandfather_. No way. _His virginity_. Ha. He totally should, just to see Ms Leighton's face. But no doubt he'd score yet another tedious detention.

What had he lost in recent history?

He started to write.

_Just as the weather was warming up, there was a Saturday morning where I'd crashed at Fulton's place the night before. We slept in til around 11am and then we called Jules to come around and think of an inspirational idea for how to spend the rest of the day, as we were both broke and hungry and no one was coming up with a decent plan under those conditions._

_Julie showed up after 12 and we immediately felt better. Jules was a smart little cookie and would find a way for us to enjoy the day._

_Based on the fact that Fulton's fridge contained nothing but half a bottle of ketchup, a plan emerged that we'd scrounge enough cash for a packet of hot dogs and have ourselves a poor man's barbeque in the park. While Fult and I were searching the sofa for change, Fulton's mom Deena came in with a Budweiser in hand, tripped over Julie sitting cross-legged on the floor and drenched her in beer. She'd obviously enjoyed a few of those beers already and started gushing these really dramatic apologies at poor Jules. _

_Somehow, it didn't sound genuine. Like she really thought it was a little funny._

_While Fulton took care of his mom, I took Julie to the bathroom to clean herself up._

_'Dude, I'm soaked,' She told me from inside as I waited by the door. 'I didn't bring anything else to wear and I'm going to smell like I live in a cardboard box. I'll have to go home.'_

_Uh, no, we couldn't have that. I stripped off my Metallica shirt, opened the door without warning and tossed it to her. I couldn't help flashing a little smile at the glimpse I caught, closing the door without a word. _

_'Wear that. C'mon, get washed up and let's go!'_

_By the time she came out again, Fulton had managed to convince his mom to go take a nap and joined me. We'd laughed as Julie stepped out of the bathroom. She was swimming in my huge black shirt. It totally covered her cutoff shorts, so it looked like she was wearing nothing at all underneath._

_'Nice fit, right?' she'd giggled, tying a knot in the side of the shirt so it rode a little higher._

_We took our time walking to the park, strolling through the city like we owned it. It was too f'n hot to bother with another shirt. Besides, I sort of like the way it looked, me shirtless, Jules wearing my shirt._

_We hung out in the park all day, barefoot, sprawling out on the grass, having water fights to cool off and screwing around with people walking past. We cooked our hot dogs on a park barbeque and ate them out of our bare hands – after all that, we forgot to bring that damn ketchup. _

_Fult dared Jules to get us something cold to drink, and we'd watched from our spot on the grass as she pulled a classic damsel in distress routine on some preppy dude with a picnic basket, skipping back triumphantly with a big bottle of Coke. _

_Silly Jules – she didn't realize all she really had to do was smile._

_Later in the day, while Fult was taking a nap on the grass, Jules wandered over to a swing nearby and hopped on happily. I went and helped her out with some extra-strength pushes. It felt good to stand barefoot in the late afternoon sun and watch her swinging back and forth, her long hair flying out behind her, slim brown legs pumping. Her bare feet just touched the ground occasionally. _

_When I caught sight of her face, as she threw out her legs to go again, she had a huge smile, looking as happy as I'd ever seen her._

_I pushed her harder, making her fly right up into the air, high as she could go. I kept waiting for her to get scared and yell at me to let her back down, but she never did. She loved it. _

_I was totally sunburnt that night. It was worth it.  
><em>

_She doesn't come around anymore._

_This is what I lost._

Portman stopped writing and studied his essay. He'd written way more then he'd intended to.

Well, screw it – he was free of this room.

He stood and crossed the classroom, waiting in front of Ms Leighton's desk. She was marking homework.

'Done?' she asked dubiously, reaching for his paper.

Portman hesitated, held it back for a second. Come to think of it, maybe it wasn't something he wanted to share.

'Dean?'

'Yeah. Uh, look, it's crappy. I need a new paper.'

'How much have you done?'

'Not much-'

'Let me see, please.'

She took the paper from his hand.

Portman folded his arms uncomfortably as she started to read his scratchy handwriting. 'It's not much, ok. So, can I go?'

She was busy reading. 'If you wait, I'll grade it for you now-'

'No, I don't care. Throw it out. It's just a bunch of bullshit anyway.' Portman grabbed his books and strode out of the classroom, leaving his teacher staring after him.

_AN: Yeah, I know, there's no Adam/Julie. They're nearby. Please review x_


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Well, not a huge response on the last chapter. Fair enough. It's been a while and it was the first Portman-centric chapter.**

**(Long-overdue) shout-outs from chapter 10:**

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**Cuda77: (Name change?) Yeah, right now Phil Banks is pretty much bull-headed. That's how I see him based on what we saw in the movies, I can't imagine him demanding anything but total obedience from his kids if he thought they were messing up. Too bad we never saw him in D3 (...ah, right?) to get an update on the character. Thanks much for your kind review, as always.**

**BTW, you totally spun me out! So they do walk among us...**

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**luv990696luv: Always have to copy and paste your name, lol! Thanks for your super sweet review. Charlie is such a supportive friend isn't he? That's what I always loved about the Ducks. I don't think Charlie will play a huge role in this story, but don't worry, J/A will still have plenty of drama coming their way...**

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**CaileeChaos: Thanks for your FOUR reviews, you crazy chick! Muchos gracias! I couldn't think of anywhere more perfect for Adam to head from his big beautiful cold house than to the tiny and cosy Conway residence. Hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters. **

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**Nyahcroft: 'Strong, silent, but passionate as hell' – yeah, that just about sums up how I see Adam, too. But I think as he starts to stand up for himself and what he wants, he's going to have to get a lot more vocal. Thanks so much for your review.**

**Friday morning**

It was in Chem class, ten minutes before the lunch bell, when Adam finally got the message to come to the Dean's office.

He didn't go straight there - he waited outside the classroom for Julie. They walked slowly, in silence. He needed time to get his thoughts straight. He'd been thinking about what to say, what to do since they'd woken up this morning.

He was not coming up with any answers.

When they reached the office, Julie stopped just outside the door.

'C'mon.' Adam held out his hand.

They'd decided that when this moment came, they'd go in together. Present a united front.

She shook her head slowly. 'You should go in without me.'

'What? No, it's ok-'

'Adam. C'mon, you know it'll just upset your dad if he sees me.'

Adam snorted. 'Like I care.'

'I do,' she insisted quietly, ducking her head but holding his gaze firmly. 'He's your dad, Adam, he's here because he cares about you. He'd have calmed down by now. Just – go in there, and try to work something out. Just give it a shot. Please?'

Adam hesitated, his lips pressed in a firm line. He wanted to make a statement, take Julie in with him, stand right there with her and declare that he was not one little bit sorry for leaving his father's house with her.

'Please?' she asked softly.

'I guess.' He agreed reluctantly. 'Where will you be?'

'Right here. I'll be right here.'

She smiled up. He couldn't help smiling back, dropping a quick, determined kiss on her lips before he took a deep breath and opened the door to Dean Buckley's office.

Julie hovered, alone in the quiet wood-panelled hallway. She moved to the other side so she wouldn't be tempted to strain her ears, and settled against the wall.

As surreal and horrible as the previous day had been for them both, it had been blissful to wake up tangled together in the Conways's old blue sleeping bag. She couldn't remember ever waking up next to anyone before, her head resting on his chest, his back pressed uncomfortably against the floor, her arm dead from sleeping wrapped around his neck, breathing in time together. Neither moving because then they would have to admit they were awake.

It was barely spoiled by the sudden appearance of Charlie's curly head popping out over the end of his bed, a delighted grin on his sleep-creased face.

_'Gotcha...'_

'You won't tell,' Julie had murmured back comfortably, not moving. She knew he never would, not really.

Charlie cocked his head to one side. 'I just hope you've got a great bribe ready, Miss Family Planning.'

Her eyebrows arched at that little crack. 'I don't think I need one.'

'Oh, really? Why's that?'

'I can see the magazines under your bed from here.'

'Ahhh. You can?'

'Yeah. I can. Do you really think those could possibly be real-'

'Hey!' Charlie slapped the bedcovers. 'How 'bout breakfast?'

It had been nice to sit around the kitchen table and eat cereal together. Nice to laugh about the deflated airbed – with some details left out – and Casey's obvious reluctance to believe Charlie's on-going theory that yes, her expensive new heating system did in fact conk out about 2am during the night, which both Adam and Julie could now add their support too.

They'd gotten a ride to school, and as they'd drawn closer, Adam had grown more and more silent.

During their morning classes, they'd just been waiting.

Surely Adam's father was ready to come to some sort of compromise. Why else would he be here? What would happen would they left the office and he saw her? Julie tried to breathe evenly, practising her response evenly.

_Smile, Julie. Say 'Good Afternoon, Mr Banks_.' Or hello. Or hi. Or maybe just smile? Or do nothing? Maybe let him say hello first...

Julie was tired. She wished she'd had time to shower and change, or at least brush her teeth.

'Hey, stranger.'

Julie jumped, coming out of her daydream. She sighed in relief to see Dean Portman's smirking face. He knew he'd startled her.

'Oh, hey.' She slapped his arm. 'Don't scare me.'

'I only said hey.' Dean made a face, hiding his pleasure at catching Julie without her little tag-along.

Rare occasion to see her out alone. Maybe someone had looked too hard at Banks and he was injured, yet again. The kid was made out of glass.

He opened his arms wide, and Julie accepted the hug. It was good to see Portman. He'd been kind of hard to handle when Adam was around lately – either he wouldn't lay off him, or he just took off completely.

But he was her friend, and he gave the biggest bear hugs that could always lift her mood.

He settled next to Julie on the wall. 'Whatcha doin'?'

'Waiting for Adam.' Julie lowered her voice cautiously. 'He's in there with the Dean and his father. He got kicked out of home last night,' she confided, grimacing up at Dean. 'It was bad.'

'Oh, no way. So you're free? Come round mine, I got some new tunes you'd like.' Portman stood up straight, pulling on her hand.

This did not reach the desired reaction for Julie.

She blinked. 'No, I can't go anywhere. I have to wait til they're done. It's really serious, Dean.'

Portman resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Fulton got kicked out of home every third day, and no one batted an eyelid. But if was Adam Banks, the golden son of Eden Hall – well, shit, alert the media.

'Whatever. You can't do shit standing out here.' He tried to get her walking. 'You can find him later if you have to, alright? Let's go...' he urged, a little exasperation in his voice.

Julie shook her head resolutely, pulling her hand back. 'I'm sorry. I just can't right now.'

Dean rocked back on his heels, surveying Julie in disbelief. He shook his head.

'You're telling me that he's busy with something that's got nothing to do with you, and you'd still rather stand around waiting for him then come hang out with me.'

His tone was disgusted.

'It's not like that. It's not like he _told_ me to wait out here,' Julie struggled to explain. 'I want to come over, it's just... kind of a bad situation right now. I need to be here for him.'

'Right,' he replied flatly. 'So much for not ditching us.'

'I _didn't_ ditch you. I'm not. I haven't.' Julie tried to keep her voice calm. 'I try to see you and Fulton. You never want to hang out with us.'

Fulton didn't seem to care if Adam was part of the group, but Dean always found excuses to bail if she brought Adam along. It was rude and hurtful, although she tried to pretend she didn't notice for Adam's sake. But right now they had bigger problems then Dean's lack of welcome.

'Yeah. And you never want to hang out with anyone but him.'

Julie glanced at the office door. 'Can we not do this right now.'

'Why not?' Portman spread his arms, indicating the empty hallway. 'You got something better to do while you're waiting around for him? Honestly, Jules, it's a little pathetic.'

'Oh, I'm pathetic?' Julie folded her arms, her eyes narrowing. 'Wow. Thanks a lot.'

'Hey, I'm not the one who ditches their friends the second-' Portman exhaled hard. He looked up, spreading his hands wide. 'Look, why the hell can't you just come see us alone, do you always have to bring him with you? Doesn't he trust you?'

'Don't start that kind of crap. It's not going to work.' Julie took a deep breath. 'Look, I told you we can still hang out. I _meant_ it. I want to see you guys, both of you. I'm just not going to apologize for dating Adam. I know you have some kind of issue with him, but you really need to get over it.'

Portman leaned forward, into Julie's face. 'Or what?' he asked softly.

'Come on, Dean...' she sighed, looking away.

'Come on, bullshit.' His face darkened as he straightened. 'You just don't want to admit you got a rich boyfriend and now you're too good to be friends with me.'

_What?_ The accusation was so outrageous, Julie's jaw dropped. 'I _never_ said anything like that,' she managed to say firmly. 'That is _total_ crap, and you know it.'

He hadn't wanted it to happen, but now the words were coming out, they didn't seem to want to stop.

'You didn't have to say anything, honey, what you do is enough. You can't even see what you're doing, that's how bad he has you pulled in. Well, I hope you're enjoying your fling with the little prick. He's gonna be the only friend you have left soon.'

'Dean! Give me a break-'

'No, you know what, Gaffney, it's fine. It's just fuckin' fine. Just forget about it, I won't be bothering you again.'

Portman turned and strode off down the hall.

He didn't look back.

Julie hesitated. She started to jog after Portman, to grab his arm and make him listen to reason, calm him down and salvage their friendship.

She didn't.

If he chose to hate Adam so much that it was worth losing her friendship over it, then he'd made the choice for her.

Julie stayed where she was, taking deep breathes to try to calm down.

_Ok, ok, ok. Pull it together, Gaffney, now is not the time. He'll be fine... it'll all be fine..._

She looked up as the Dean's door opened suddenly.

**Dean Buckley's office**

Adam stood in the doorway for a moment. No one seemed to register his presence right away. He probably should have knocked. To his surprise, Coach Orion was leaning against the filing cabinet, and Adam caught a snippet of the conversation already taking place.

'-don't need to worry about her, Phil. She's a good kid and a great student.'

'She's a scholarship student.'

Orion's tone turned hard. 'So is Adam, as I remember.'

Phillip scoffed. 'Adam _earned_ his scholarship. He's carrying that team of yours, Coach.'

Adam hesitated. Finally he knocked on the open door once and stepped into the office.

'Adam! There you are, son. Have a seat.'

Dean Buckley had his usual amiable nature, but his eyes were a little more serious.

Phillip was already seated in the visitor's chair on the right.

Adam took the other chair silently, looking straight ahead. 'You wanted to see me?' he asked the Dean quietly.

What was Coach Orion doing here? His father must have asked him to come by, help persuade the wayward son back into obedience. But he knew Casey had called Coach before school that morning, too. And Casey was on their side.

'Now.' Buckley looked from son to father, steepling his fingers. 'Adam, I believe your father has been very concerned about your whereabouts-'

'Just where the hell have you been?'

Adam's eyes closed briefly.

He may as well leave now.

Instead, he forced himself to meet his father's glare directly. He'd promised Julie he'd try.

'Well, I wasn't at home, and I didn't get a dorm room,' he explained patiently. 'So you won. What's it to you where I've been?'

'Your mother has been worried sick, that's what. You need to stop acting like a child and show a little consideration for her.'

'What? You kicked me out!' Adam protested, gripping the arms of his chair. 'I didn't have a choice about leaving-'

'You were with that girl, weren't you. Did anyone check her dorm room?' Now Phillip's hard stare hit Dean Buckley. 'Did anyone manage to think of that?'

'Alright. Let's take it down a notch.' Ted Orion's low voice cut through the tension in the room. 'What's done is done. We're here to find some kind of a solution.'

'What solution? He kicked me out of the house. He said horrible things to Julie-'

'Cut the hysterics, please, Adam. You know I said nothing of the kind.'

'You didn't have to,' Adam spat. 'You made it perfectly clear what you thought of her.'

'_She_ is-' Phillip Banks started to respond. He caught the eye of Ted Orion. 'Not the issue here.' He took a long, slow breath before he spoke, holding his son firmly in his gaze, his voice quiet and sharp.

'Your behaviour was inexcusable. _Inexcusable_. You will not be using that tone with me again. You will not be making the rules. You will not be so disrespectful and ungrateful to those whose roof you are living under. And you will not be seeing that girl again, for any reason or under any circumstances. Let me know if I'm not being clear on any of this, Adam. This ends now.'

Adam stared at the carpet for a long moment.

'You're right. It ends now. I'm done.' He stood up fast, shoving his chair back. Dean Buckley raised a hand, but he ignored it. 'Tell Mom I'm staying with friends. Tell her sorry, I won't be coming home today. Or any other day. _For any reason, or under any circumstances_.'

'Sit down.' Phillip Banks' voice was an order.

Adam ignored it as he strode to the door.

_'Sit. Down.'_

Adam paused at the door, and looked back at his father. 'No,' he replied simply, and opened it.

**Outside the office**

Julie looked up, startled as the door opened suddenly and Adam stormed out.

'What happ-' she started to ask, but he'd already grabbed her hand and was pulling her down the hallway.

'It was a waste of time. Let's get out of here.'

'What happened in there?' she asked once they were outside the building, striding over the lawns towards the dorms.

'It was a waste of time!'

Uh-huh. She got that. This day was just getting worse and worse. Julie waited as Adam fumed, almost jogging to keep up with him. He looked so tightly wound, he needed to move.

'My father is a complete lunatic, that's what,' he let out finally. 'I hope he gets wiped out by a truck on the way home.'

'Don't say that.'

'It's true. He doesn't care what happens to me, why should I care about him?'

She couldn't think of a good answer to that right now.

'Slow down.' She tugged Adam's arm gently, forcing him to a stop in the middle of the school lawns.

Adam inhaled deeply, trying to calm down. He looked at Julie, studied her face for a moment. Her eyes were so worried. For him. He had to come through this for her.

'Sorry, Jules. I couldn't do it. I don't think anything's getting fixed today.'

Or any other day. He'd burned his bridges with his father well and truly.

Julie nodded in resignation. She slipped her arms around Adam's waist, looking up at him.

'Let's give it some space,' she suggested.

Adam nodded slowly, leaning forward until his head rested on hers. In a strange way, now the adrenaline was slowly leaving his body, he was calm.

He had a place to stay, with the Conways, for now. He hadn't given up Julie, and he hadn't given in. Together, they could work something out.

Something that was better then how it had been before.

**AN: Please review ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note:**

**Hey, guys, remember this one? Yeah, I last updated in the late Jurassic period. Sometimes the hardest thing is to just pick one way for the story to flow and go with it. So, here we go.**

**Cuda77, CaileeChaos, Monica8471, IllusionsOfBliss, bookluver2001, FortuneFaded2012 – if you guys see this, thank you all for taking the time to review the last chapter, thank you for your feedback and as always, it's very much appreciated. **

**Hey, did everyone see the Mighty Ducks oral history, btw? And the reunion pics? Amazing to get some insight after all this time.**

**Adam's POV**

Since the first day I joined the Ducks, I've always been 'the rich kid'.

Honestly, I never really believed it. I realised that I had newer equipment and lived in a nicer suburb than the other guys, but I didn't think there was _that_ much of a difference between us.

I mean, I knew a lot of people who were much, much wealthier then our family – Dad and Mom were always talking about the 'extravagance' of some of their closest friends. And I was raised to believe that we didn't spend money for the appearance of it – we just bought the best quality. If Mom bought anything new, she expected it to last. She was always frustrated about how quickly I grew out of my clothes and shoes.

But I never wore a hand-me-down jacket or pair of Nikes in my life. We just didn't do that. Old clothes went to charity, and new clothes appeared in their place.

Now for the first time in my life, I was starting to realize something.

I was a complete, bona fide, born and bred rich kid.

Or I had been, up until right now.

When I checked my bank balance the day after the meeting in Dean Buckley's office, my bankcard declined, and for the first time in my life I didn't have any source of income. I had about fifty dollars in my wallet when we left the house for good. And I had my secret stash, my roll of notes, but I was determined to save it for when I really needed it.

It hit home for me that day, following practice.

I was thirsty, and I needed a Gatorade to rehydrate.

Simple. Feel thirsty, buy a Gatorade.

Except when I put my hand in my pocket for change, there were only a couple coins left.

I stood in front of the vending machine for a full minute, wondering what to do.

Finally, I went back to the locker room and put my mouth under a tap instead. That afternoon, Julie gave me her spare water bottle to keep in my backpack.

That evening, I went to the library to write up a resume.

Independence wasn't going to come cheap.

**Julie's POV**

It's amazing how after life changes in a big way, normalcy just returns like it was never gone.

The world didn't end, and Adam wasn't sent away to military school.

Adam returned to Charlie's house the day that he last saw his father. And the next day, and the next.

It became routine quickly.

Charlie always joked about Adam moving in on his turf, but it was obvious he loved it. He was a people person, and an only child, and Adam was one of his best friends.

In fact, apart from a phone message from his brother, we didn't hear anything else from Adam's family for the next few days.

I hadn't spoken to Portman for days, either. This was a record since the first day we'd met.

I wasn't going to be the one extending the olive branch. He was the one who'd thrown our friendship away because I wouldn't do what he wanted me to do. The only times I saw him were in classes and team practise, where he talked loudly to other people and refused to meet my eyes. The one time I went to the gym and he was there alone, he finished his reps, grabbed his stuff and walked out, right past me, without a word.

I just... hated for everyone to be right about him.

I knew Fulton didn't want to take sides in this, but he had no choice. And I knew he was closer to Portman than he was to his own family. They really were brothers to each other, the missing piece that they both needed. Their bond had always set them apart, and I would never mess that up for them.

But, God, I missed them both so much. Fulton was one of the strongest people I'd ever met. He was his own person, unashamedly alternative. For most people, this would put a target on their back. Fulton always put the target on his own back, and dared anyone to take a shot.

Like the day Connie tied his hair into pigtails at lunch, just goofing around. We'd all had a good laugh. But then, he'd not only kept the pigtails on throughout lunch, but wore them for the rest of the day, along with his Nirvana shirt and heavy boots. He'd made it look good, and tough, and it was clear that there was not one person in this school that was going to tell him how to look.

I admired Fulton. I missed Fulton.

So it was a relief when he suddenly dropped down next to me, on the bench near the dorms where I was waiting for Adam while he called his brother from the payphone.

He gave me a rueful smile. 'Hey...'

I smiled back. 'Hey, yourself.'

'Look... I just wanted to say, we're still good, right?'

His expression was so wary, I gave him a playful elbow to the ribs.

'We're fine, Fult. I know this isn't your deal.'

'Yeah, it sucks.' He rolled his eyes. 'It's just... you know what it's like with Portman, Jules, he's not good with people. Dean no handle the big scary feelings.'

I remembered not that long I'd been giving Adam the same excuses for Portman and my heart hardened. I was in the same boat now. The very, very large boat full of people that Dean Portman Did Not Care For.

'Well, I guess he needs to start learning.' My voice came out clipped.

'Yeah, totally. But _you_, however... are very good with people!' Fulton beamed at me, and gave my shoulder a little encouraging punch. 'So, maybe, even though I _know_ it's not your fault... you can just talk to him and...' he lowered his hands slowly. 'Settle it all down.'

I nodded slowly, lacing my fingers together. 'And you know I usually would, but... it's already settled, Fult. He doesn't want to hang with me anymore. I'm not changing my life to suit him, so there's nothing else I can do.'

'Uh-huh.' Fulton looked down at his big hands for a second, considering. 'He's kind of going off the rails right now, and honestly, I think you guys should be able to sort this out. C'mon.'

Oh, really? C'mon, indeed. I raised my brows at him. 'I have tried. Many times. He's not listening. And you know what, Fult? I'm not listening anymore, either. I've had enough of his crap. Haven't you?'

'He doesn't mean it. He just can't handle what's happening, and-'

I'd heard enough. 'Why do you do this, Fulton?' I demanded. 'Just how much of your life do you plan to dedicate to dealing with Portman's screw-ups?'

He looked back at me for a long moment, and started to rise from the bench. I felt like I'd kicked a puppy. A huge, muscled, adorable puppy.

I grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back down. 'I'm sorry. That was harsh. I'm just... over it. I don't know how you put up with all his crap sometimes.'

He shrugged, looking resigned. 'Hey, everyone needs someone to have their back.'

I studied his face, thinking maybe that was intended as a shot at me, but he seemed sincere.

'Adam ok?' he asked quietly.

I mirrored his shrug. 'Kind of...'

'Yeah, I hear he ditched home 'cause his old man wouldn't let you see each other.'

'You heard right.'

'I can't say I'm surprised, you are kind of a bad influence.'

A spurt of outraged laughter bubbled to my lips. I elbowed Fulton's ribs, but he just snickered cheerfully.

'Hey, welcome to my world. Don't get all hung up on the one person who doesn't like you.'

I frowned at him wryly. 'Well, there's at least two I can think of.'

'Oh, bullshit.' He waved this idea away carelessly. 'Portman's in your corner no matter what, you have to know that.'

'He has a weird way of showing it.'

Fulton shrugged. 'He's... a very complicated young man,' he whispered finally, and another laugh popped out of me, as he'd intended. He squeezed my shoulder. 'Alright. Well... you're still my homie, little J. Just so you know, nothing's changed here.'

I tried to nod formally, but I was too relieved that Fulton, at least, was still ok with me. I was starting to run short on friends lately. 'Thank you,' I whispered, and grabbed him around the neck for a quick, hard hug. He returned it. When he released me, his smile was resigned.

'Don't be a stranger.'

**Adam's POV**

On Tuesday afternoon, I was called to the office. My brother had left a message for me to call him back.

I could have used the office phone for free, but I took the number to the payphone out in the parking lot and sacrificed the last of my change for privacy.

'Hey, bro! How's it going?'

Jon's voice was a little too cheerful.

'Fine, thanks. Great. How's school?'

There was a short hesitation on Jon's end as he registered my voice, as opposed to the Incredible Sulk he'd obviously been expecting to hear from.

'Yeah, it's fine. Look, what's happening down there? Dad, ah- said you haven't been home the last few days.'

I would bet every single dollar I had that he'd said a _lot_ more than that.

'Nope. Haven't. Did he happen to tell you the rest of the story?'

Jon chuckled slightly. 'Well, y'know. I heard his version.' His tone turned serious. 'Listen, Adam, Mom's worried about you. I know it's a pain in the ass, but you have to go see them and sort this out.'

I took a slow breath. 'We tried. It didn't happen. I'm sorry if Mom's worried, but she can't be too concerned. She knows where I am, she's welcome to come by school anytime she wants to talk to me.' I exhaled hard. 'She hasn't.'

'Come on, man, you know she's not the type to look for conflict.'

That was funny, as conflict seemed to find me easily enough.

'I haven't spoken to Mom since I left,' I told Jon shortly. 'Like I said, she knows where to find me.'

I heard a long, slow sigh from the other end of the line. 'Alright, ok, look. How about I drive down this weekend and pick you up? You can spend the weekend on campus, we'll just hang out and have a little downtime.'

I hesitated, leaning on the glass of the phone booth.

'Adam? Don't stress, bro. We'll get this sorted out.'

'Thanks, but I can't. I'm busy this weekend.'

'Busy with what?' he asked suspiciously.

'I have homework. I have to train.' _And find a job_, I added mentally.

And, although I wouldn't admit it to anyone, I wasn't at all sure that Portman couldn't worm his way back into Julie's good graces if I disappeared for a few days. He'd been giving us both a wide berth, which was _exactly_ the ideal situation in my mind.

'You can train anytime. You can work out at the gym here. I'll even shoot a few pucks with you, how 'bout that?'

Jon was trying hard to sound casual, but he must have been worried. He hadn't played hockey in years, unless I'd begged him to play goalie for me on one of his rare weekends at home.

'It's... a Saturday team practice. I can't get out of it. Sorry.'

'Maybe I can talk to Orion. Write you a note.'

'Another time, Jon. Thanks for the offer.'

'How's Julie?'

I smiled down. 'Yeah, she's perfect.'

Jonathan's laughter echoed through the phone. 'So she's not just good. Or great.'

'Nope. Perfect.'

'You've talked this girl up, bro. Can't wait to meet her.'

His tone was teasing, but that actually meant more to me than I would've thought. It was nice to hear that someone in the family was willing to meet Julie with an open mind.

'Yeah, she'd like to meet you too.'

'We'll have to do that sometime soon. Right now, it's you who I'm worried about.'

'I'm fine. Honestly. I have a good place to stay. I have my friends, my team, I'm here at school every day.'

'Nerd. You ran away and you still go to school?'

'Sorry to disappoint you. Fighting the other hobos for the good bench at the bus station got old pretty fast.'

'Especially when you kept losing, right?'

I laughed a little. 'Right.'

'Adam, please just let me come get you this weekend.'

'No. Sorry.'

Jon sighed again. He was my big brother, and I instinctively wanted to give in, to help him out. I knew Dad would be on his case, now that he couldn't be on mine. But I couldn't.

'You need cash?'

'Well, Dad cut off my bank account. But I'm ok. Really, Jonathan. I'm fine. I'd tell you if I needed help. I'm... handling this.'

There was a moment of silence on the line.

'Look, I promise I'll call if things don't work out.'

'They _won't_ work out, Adam. You need to go home.'

'Don't worry about me,' I insisted.

'Just – call me, ok.'

'I will. Thanks. I gotta go.'

I hung up.

**Portman POV**

No matter how I tried to spin it, I couldn't get this situation to play out right.

Julie, one of the very few people who got me, who always knew where I was coming from, she'd chosen one of _them_ over me.

The hell was I supposed to do? I mean, she hooks up with this rich kid, he immediately takes up all her time and energy with his daddy issues, and yet I'M the bad guy for calling it out?

So Banks had a little run-in with his father. The same guy who comes to school in brand-new clothes every year. The kid whose hockey equipment costs the same as my mom's car. The rich boy who got a Jeep for his birthday and keeps it in a garage the size of our apartment in Chicago. The person who stole one of my closest friends.

This is who I'm supposed to feel sorry for?

You know how many fights I've ever had with my father?

Zero.

He didn't hang around long enough to hear my first word, let alone hold a conversation.

Don't get me wrong – don't care, never knew him, don't miss him, adios.

But you know what it's like to grow up with no dad when you're poor?

Don't think I'm getting soppy, now.

It's _embarrassing_.

It's just one more indication of what you don't have that everyone else does.

It's like being the kid who forgot the permission slip for the field trip, every day.

We couldn't even get child support out of him, let alone hockey equipment.

We always lived in the same neighbourhood, and we only moved a couple times when the rent got too high, so I grew up knowing everyone around us, and everyone knew about my mom and me. Mom barely spoke about him, but some of our neighbours were kind enough to share with me their opinions on why I didn't have a father. Generally it was agreed that he just did not want my mom any more after she got pregnant. Apparently he thought he was pretty hot shit and he didn't want a kid messing with his lifestyle. So not only did I get stiffed on this deal, but I am _literally_ the reason my father left.

Yeah, cue the violins, right? Whatever.

Even Fulton, as messed up as his family is, at least his father gets off his stupid ass and puts on some pants and shows up occasionally at games, although it's pretty obvious that Fult would rather he didn't.

And Jules, well, I used to think Jules was just like me.

When I first met her, she didn't let on for months that she didn't have a mom at home.

I actually pictured her mom, y'know? I actually had this idea in my head of an older Julie, with a few little wrinkles around the eyes, and that big smile, packing her daughter healthy lunches every day and making home-made granola or something.

Nope. Doesn't exist. Her mom took off just like my old man did.

I understood why she didn't tell. Embarrassing, right? And while it's not considered surprising for someone like me to have some deadshit absent father, it definitely stands out when someone's actual mother, from a good middle-class family, suddenly leaves her baby girl and disappears into the wind.

I mean, her mom. That's harsh.

So it was just Jules and her dad, just like me and Mom.

But somehow, unlike Dean Portman Junior, she turned out pretty amazing anyway.

She really did. She doesn't bitch about her mom not being there, even when I tried to provoke her. She just shrugs and changes the subject to her dad and all the great stuff they do in the summer and what he's working on and stuff. She has a very polite conversation with her mom every now and again, and asks about her mom's replacement kids, and then says bye and hangs up and moves on. And leaves it all there.

And she's just so cool, calm and collected. Someone can get right in her face, and she'll just stand there and stare at them, like, 'you finished?' and never flinch. It's pretty hard to shake her cool.

Just like me, yeah? Ha.

You can just – look at her, and see that she's going to an amazing college, she'll have a great career, you can't imagine her not succeeding at anything she tries. And then she'll still go home and see her ol' dad for Thanksgiving, because Julie Anne Gaffney is fucking awesome like that.

Yeah, Banks too. He's the successful type, I can admit that. But he had it handed to him. If he wasn't on scholarship, he'd still be here on his dad's dime, no one would ever let him fall through the cracks.

No one sees that when they look at me. It's like the future's already planned out for all of us.

But for some reason, I really believed Julie wasn't like that, she wasn't going to go for the rich kid with the blue eyes and perfect dental work. I mean, she didn't have the perfect family, right? There's a little screw-up in the system for you. 

It's not like I didn't make an effort – yeah, let's be honest, I kept the rest of them away, anyone who took an interest in her got to have a little kind word with their pal Portman. Scooter was the example and then I didn't need to do much. Usually I just can look at someone who starts hanging around too much, let them see what I'm thinking and they suddenly remember all the things they need to do elsewhere. She doesn't notice, cause Julie still doesn't realize just how gorgeous she is, and she is so naive about people, it's terrifying. She thinks everyone who stops to talk to her just wants to be friends and no stray dogs will ever snap at her. And that's how I planned to keep it.

But I never made a move either. Not now. Not when I'm so... me. I'd screw it up, she'd realize that I was me, and that she was her, and then there'd be no going back to what we had already, our friendship would be gone. It's ok to have a screw-up friend but someone like Julie is not going to hang around for a screw-up boyfriend. I wouldn't want her to have deal with it.

But later, when I was better, when I could keep my shit together, the day when I wake up and I'm more than me – that's when I'd be ready to tell her.

She was supposed to wait for me.

**General POV  
><strong> 

When Fulton opened the door to the dorm room, he could see the shape of his roomie sprawled flat out like a corpse on his unmade bed. At first he thought he was asleep, but as he shut the door, Portman raised his head and surveyed him unsmilingly.

'Where've _you_ been?'

'Where's your badge?' Fulton shot back, only half-joking, throwing his jacket into the corner. He was pissed off with this whole situation, annoyed with having to be the peacemaker and unimpressed with life in general.

'Thought I could ask a question. Why, got something to hide? '

Obviously Fulton had interrupted a full-on pity party for one.

'I was talking to Julie,' he stated flatly, sitting heavily on his own bed to pull his boots off. No point in hiding it.

'What the hell, man!' Portman was the picture of wronged injustice.

Fulton just rubbed his eyes. 'I figured one of us should._ I_ don't need to lose a friend just because you decide you hate her so hard.'

'Yeah, that's just rough for you. 'Cause I do hate her hard.'

'No, you really don't.'

Portman dropped back on the bed. He stared at the ceiling, but pointed a finger at Fulton warningly.

Fulton raised his hands. 'You don't want to admit it, fine. But let's take us a little trip into reality, where you have managed to drive the girl you _hate so hard_,' he continued, heavily sarcastic, 'directly into the arms of her new man. Nice work!'

'Back the _fuck_ off, Reed.'

'You realise Banks is loving this situation right now? You know that, right? Because while you're busy acting like the walking wounded, ignoring Jules and doing a really nice job of making her miserable, he's right there smelling like roses and giving her a shoulder to cry on. Oh, my poor Julie, I won't let that mean man hurt you anymore.'

Silence from Portman.

'If this is really so important to you, you shouldn't be here sulking in the dark. You should be out there sorting this shit out instead of making me deal with it. This. Is. Your. Issue. Not. Mine.'

'You're right.'

I'm-' Fulton exhaled and threw his hands in the air. It was a miracle. 'I'm sorry, can you repeat that? I want to remember this moment forever.'

'You're right, man. You are totally right.' Portman jumped off the bed, his movements quick and focused. 'I'm gonna find Banks.'

'Well, it's about freakin'- what?'

'It's not Julie, it's Banks. He's pulling her strings, he thinks he's so fuckin' brilliant. I'm gonna finish this now.'

'Portman, that's not what I meant- _shit_.' Fulton shoved his feet back into his boots and scrambled for the door, but Portman was gone.

**Please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

Fangirl: Thanks for your review! I agree re Portman - I got the impression from D3 that even though he's so in your face on the surface, he runs away from things that leave him outside his comfort zone rather than face up to them.

IllusionsOfBliss: Haha, trouble is here! Hope you enjoy, thanks for your review!

GrownUp90s: Ok, so you actually inspired me to finish this chapter. Thanks so much for reading and for your massive review – I'm glad you enjoyed the Portman chapter. I find him really interesting to write, I think all his bravado must be covering some real insecurity. I agree about Julie and Adam, although I think she's less introverted then he is, she always seemed much more comfortable in a group setting then he did. It's nice to have someone to discuss these guys with!

**Author's note:** DUN DUN DUN! Yeah, I think that covers it. 

**Chapter 14  
><strong> 

Adam's POV

I got to the locker room a little early that day – on our way back to Julie's room, we'd run into Connie, who was walking with arms folded tightly around herself, looking like a thundercloud. We'd all walked back to the dorms, and Connie had made a few pointed comments that although she was just _fine _and not at all _pissed_, she would maybe like to speak in _confidence_ to her best _female_ friend, someone she could trust who wasn't going to repeat her words back to _Guy_, the stupid sonovabitch.

I took the hint, gave Julie a quick kiss and took off, trying to hide my smile.

The locker room was quiet. I stuffed my backpack in my locker and took a minute to re-organise it. I was trying not to leave my stuff lying around at Charlie's, so much of my possessions were jammed in there.

The door opened and closed a few times, people starting to file in, but I didn't stop until my few possessions were in some semblance of order.

When I finally turned around, Dean Portman was standing over me.

_Oh, great_. I folded my arms and stood my ground. I wasn't going to let him know that he intimidated me.

The second thing I noticed was that he was seriously angry.

Ok, fine. I figured we could skip our usual hug, handshake and friendly banter and get straight to whatever point he had to make.

'Yeah? What?'

He didn't speak for a long moment. He just looked at me and his lip curled.

'_What_? What's your problem now?'

'You are,' he spat. 'Get the fuck out of my life. Back the fuck off of Julie. Take your little bitch-ass daddy issues and bore some other chick with them.'

That seemed pretty damn clear, but I still couldn't believe what I'd just heard, and there was one point that stuck out to me. I shook my head, amazed.

'Did you just tell me to _back off_ _my own girlfriend, _you piece of shit?'

His fist shot out, and he punched me right across the face.

It hurt like hell. It hurt so much that I couldn't believe I'd only been hit with a bare fist. My head shot back, and my vision blurred, but I recovered quicker than he was expecting me to.

I charged him, hitting him square in the stomach with my shoulder, driving him to the floor as hard as I could. I heard the breath leave his body in a hard grunt, and I could only imagine that he was as surprised as I was that I'd actually thrown him to the ground.

I pushed myself up to my knees, drew back and hit him as hard as I could, right in the jaw. It was excruciating on my knuckles, and extremely satisfying. That punch had been coming for years.

I didn't keep the advantage for long - Portman had been in a lot more fights then I had.

He rocked up, grabbed my left arm, shifted his body weight and before I could figure out what he was doing, he had me pinned to the floor with my arm twisted up painfully behind my back.

I felt something hit the back of my head hard, and the floor rushed up to smack against my face. Maybe it was his elbow that hit me. I remembered the day he'd elbowed my face and it was the same short, fast crack of pain.

I wasn't going to be his punching bag anymore. So the next time he hit me, I turned my face to the side as I hit the floor, and used the momentum to throw my shoulders back. My arm protested in agony and I hissed painfully through my teeth, but I managed to dislodge him off my back and kick out of his grasp.

We both scrambled to our feet.

People were there, I could tell, because I caught flashes of different faces, but I didn't care to enough to notice who they belonged to. They weren't important.

Portman was breathing hard, but it didn't look like he was winded. More like he was just furious that I'd managed to throw him off.

There was no point in calming down, there was no way to talk things out. We just hated each other's guts and there was no going back now.

We circled each other warily. I could vaguely hear someone – Averman? – telling us it wasn't worth it, and someone else shouting 'let them go, they need to do this!'

I agreed totally. 

'Where you going?' Portman taunted. 'Come on, take a shot, princess. See if you can land a shot on me.'

'I already did.' I stayed back, every muscle tensed, watching his every move, because I knew he was trying to distract me so he could get the upper hand and beat the living shit out of me.

I knew this because it was exactly what I was looking for the opportunity to do, too. I'd never been so angry. I hated Dean Portman and everything about him. And my heart was racing, because I knew he thought I'd taken something that belonged to him, and he'd hurt me as much as he could if I let him. I disagreed. He was the one trying to take something that belonged to me.

'Why don't you just admit you want what I have?' To my surprise, my voice was loud and clear. 'Just admit it. Well, guess what? That's _my_ girlfriend, I'm never leaving her alone, and it wouldn't make any difference if I did. _She doesn't want you_.'

He seemed taken aback for about half a second. Was he actually surprised that I knew? Then he came at me fast, and I was ready to dodge a punch, but he grabbed my shirt and threw me back hard. I slammed into the lockers. I knew he was coming after me again, so I threw my weight forward, caught him around the neck, and then we were both on the ground, grappling for the upper hand, rolling across the floor.

I couldn't think, could barely see through the red haze of pain and rage, all my energy was spent towards trying to kill Portman and stop him killing me, when suddenly my fist swept the empty air and he was gone out of my reach.

Fulton was standing over us like Goliath, and he'd simply reached down and picked up Portman bodily. He had him in a brutal headlock and was hissing at him through his teeth.

'Walk. Get out. _Get out._ You're done, it's over. I said walk.'

Portman was still fighting, throwing his shoulders back with all his strength, but Fulton was crushing his windpipe and he had no choice but to stagger out of the locker room.

Just like that, it was all over.

I pushed myself back, leaning up against the lockers, breathing hard.

The faces came back into focus, and I looked up to see Russ, Kenny, Dwayne, Luis and Averman gathered around me.

'Adam, you ok?' Kenny was asking, over and over. He reached down to tap my face, checking if I was fully conscious, I guess. I swatted his hand away, the sting in my cheek growing more apparent as the adrenaline drained out of me.

'Yeah, I'm fine.'

Russ handed me a towel, and when I looked up, I was surprised to see him smiling.

'What?'

'You got some right hook, Banksie.'

Oh. I dabbed the towel against my cheek and checked it. Just a little blood.

Luis was crouched next to me. 'Want to get up?' he offered, already starting to lift me. I really did not want to get up, but I managed to get to my feet. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was a little surprised - Luis and I had never been what you'd call close. Once I was up, he looked me up and down for injuries. I could feel my left shoulder throbbing, my t-shirt was ripped at the back, my face was swelling. I rotated my bad wrist anxiously, but it didn't twinge.

Luis shrugged. 'Better you than me,' he pronounced finally. Thanks, Dr Mendoza. Oddly, I felt a little better at his lack of concern. I couldn't look _that_ bad.

'Yeah, don't go jumping in there so quick next time,' I mumbled half-heartedly.

'Well, you looked like you had it under control, man.'

I did? I looked at Russ, who just raised his eyebrows and nodded thoughtfully.

We looked up as voices approached. Connie burst through the door, caught up in conversation. She was obviously much more cheerful now, talking animatedly, but stopped dead when she entered.

Julie came in just behind, followed her line of vision and the smile faded right off her face as she saw me.

'What – oh, no. Adam...'

I caught her in my arms, locking her in tight when she tried to pull back to examine my face. I held her tight, refusing to let go.

'I'm sorry,' I whispered over and over, although I wasn't sure exactly why.

**Portman's POV**

8pm

I ditched practice that day. Dinner, too. When I finally got back to the dorm room, it was silent and empty. Fulton was gone, along with his backpack and rollerblades.

I was only half surprised he'd taken off. When he'd dragged me outside and finally let me go, I'd shoved him away, called him a few select names and taken off. But I knew his family situation was particularly wretched this week, and I was a little surprised that he'd actually rather be there then... here.

All I wanted to do was collapse, pull a pillow over my head, and forget my entire life existed. 

There was a quiet knock on the door, and it opened before I could answer.

Julie Gaffney walked right in without waiting to be invited.

_Ok._ I just stared at her for a long moment. Well, she didn't slap me. She didn't smirk at my black eye or the bruise blossoming across my jaw. She was holding the ends of her sleeves tight in her palms, but seemed calm. So... she must want to talk.

I hadn't spoken to her for a week, and I knew she wouldn't be happy with me now. It was sad how relieved I was that she was actually here.

Of course, she didn't need to know that.

'What do you want? I'm not in the mood-'

'Just let me talk.' She folded her arms.

Fine. I extended my arm mockingly and folded them both across my chest, mirroring her. Inside, I was dying to hear what she had to say. 

'I was wrong,' Julie stated simply.

My eyebrows shot up. _What?_

'I was wrong. I admit it. I see that now.'

I opened and closed my mouth, searching for words. 'About what?' I tried finally, settling back against my desk.

'About you.' She stepped closer, tucked a lock of her long hair behind her ear. 'All the times I stood up for you when you screwed up, or said something cruel, or got in another fight. I thought you couldn't help it, because I knew you were a good person really. You just... couldn't control your temper, as much as you tried.'

She shook her head in disbelief and met my eyes.

'Well, that's bullshit. You had me fooled. It was just convenient for you to have me there to pick up the pieces for you. You're an animal. You are a horrible person. You hurt other people just for fun. You hurt Adam just because I care about him, didn't you?' She kept glaring at me even as her eyes filled with tears and her voice cracked. 'You were mad at me, you couldn't beat on a girl, so you went after him. Because you knew it would hurt me. Well, you succeeded. Are you happy now?'

_No, no, no ,no, no. Not you._

'I didn't – shit, Julie, it's not like that-'

She held up her hand to cut me off.

'Don't talk to me. I never, ever want to hear your voice again. And if you even look sideways at Adam, I'll get you expelled, I swear. I mean it. God, you should have been kicked out long ago.'

'Jules, no, come on. Just let me-' This wasn't happening. I reached for her hand, to calm her down, to explain... something, somehow, anything to change her mind.

She flinched away from me and stepped back fast.

She _flinched_. Like she thought I'd hurt her. 

Out of everything, that cut deepest.

'I hate you,' she told me evenly, looking straight into my eyes so I could see how sincere she was. 'Don't come near me.'

I held her clear gaze for a long moment, trying to come up with the right words, the ones that would explain away what I'd done, convince her she was wrong about me, that everything she'd said wasn't true.

I looked at the floor.

She opened the door, stepped through and closed it quietly behind her. 

**Please review! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I should probably note that I don't own any the Mighty Ducks or any of these characters.**

**IllusionsOfBliss: Thanks for your kind words! Glad you enjoyed the fight. And now, for something completely different...**

**GrownUp90s: Thanks for your review – I love hearing your insights. I'm glad you felt kinda sorry for Portman – I think despite his shitty behaviour, he truly believed that he was in the right, and he's only now starting to realize that it doesn't matter – he's completely lost Julie, either way.**

**Btw, 'recalcitrant turd' is the best and most hilarious description of Phillip Banks I've ever seen, I lol'd. He's definitely not done yet, either.**

Apart from the occasional footsteps in the quiet hallway, it was just the two of them in the dorm room.

Julie had emptied her clothes basket out on the spare bed in her room and was busy folding and hanging her clean clothes before they wrinkled. She hummed softly to the song on the radio – Glycerine by Bush - as she worked efficiently. Once the small pile of clothes were folded, she moved around the room, placing each item away neatly. 

Adam was on Julie's single bed, his back resting against the wall. He was apparently reading through history homework, but more often than not, his gaze drifted away from the paper and back to his girlfriend as she worked.

He knew Julie was worried. She was always worried about him lately. He played up the good parts of living at Charlie's house – the jokes, the banter, having dinner around the table with Charlie's mom. He left out the ache in his back from the sofa he slept on, the stiff and formal way that Charlie's stepdad addressed him, and above all, the constant knowledge that despite Charlie and Casey's insistence that he was good as family now - he was a guest in someone else's house, he had zero privacy, he belonged nowhere and had nowhere to call his own home.

So he tried to keep his words light for Julie and remember how much worse things could be.

For instance, he could be sitting in his parent's house in Edina, alone and thinking of her. 

'Hey...' he started casually.

'Uh-huh?'

'You think anyone would notice if I nailed a few boards over the door and kept you here just for... three, four weeks?'

Julie smiled, tossed the white t-shirt in her hands at Adam playfully. 'Nah, probably not. Give it a shot.'

He smiled back, wrapped the shirt around his hands idly.

'I'd do it. If I thought it'd work, I'd do it now.'

More than anything, he wanted their privacy. Anyone could open the door here at any time. Julie's dorm advisor knew about Adam's situation now and had started checking in on Julie on a regular basis.

Julie glanced over, sliding her dresser drawer shut.

'I thought you liked living at Charlie's.' Her voice had a slight question in it.

'He's been great.' Adam twisted the material in his hands, staring down. 'They've been great. I can't stay there forever.'

Julie left the laundry, coming to sit on the bed in front of Adam.

'Maybe... it's time we asked your parents about the dorms again. It's been a couple weeks, they'll want to know what happening. Your dad wants to keep tabs on you, he can't do that while you're living off campus-'

'My _dad_ doesn't give two shits where I live.'

Julie drew back in surprise at the forcefulness of his voice, and Adam sighed, shaking his head as he reached for her.

'Sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I'm sorry.' He pulled her close, calming down a little as she wordlessly slipped her arm around his shoulders, leaning back against the wall. 

Adam fell silent, letting his hand drift gently up and down Julie's arm, playing with the sleeve of her red plaid shirt. When she met his eyes he refused to speak, instead pressing a soft kiss to her face, right where her dimple formed every time she smiled.

**  
>Julie's POV<br>**

Adam was quiet and solemn. I ignored the cut on his face, and his swollen cheekbone, reached up to trace his jawline just with my fingertips. I hesitated, searching for the words that could start to fix him, make him feel whole again.

'Your dad loves you, Adam,' I started gently. 'He just doesn't get that you're not a little kid anymore. He's used to being in control, and he just... hates thinking that you don't need him.'

'He doesn't love me. He hates me for disobeying him. Why would he kick me out if he really cared, Jules?' he glanced up, eyes searching mine for answers. 'Why would he make me choose between my home and - someone I love? Why would you do that to someone?'

I didn't have an answer for that, and I hated it. I hated seeing him so hurt and I couldn't just explain it away this time.

So I reached out and pulled him down into my arms instead. He rested his head on my shoulder and was quiet.

'I don't know,' I whispered honestly. 'I don't know.'

I held him tight, wrapped him up in all my love, and hoped he could feel it.

His breathing evened out after a minute, and his body relaxed against mine, warm and heavy.

Good.

'Do you love me?'

The whisper was so soft, I nearly missed it except for the light breath on my collarbone.

'Yes.'

How could he still wonder? Of course I loved him. More than he could imagine.

He raised his head, pushing himself up on one arm so he could look at me. His blue eyes burned into mine, and I couldn't deny him anything.

'Just for now, or forever?'

'Forever,' I promised, holding his gaze intently.

I couldn't imagine a future where I didn't love the beautiful, intense boy in front of me.

'Will you prove it?' he asked seriously, inclining his head towards mine, his lips an inch away from mine.

'Yes.'

'When I leave Charlie's house - will you come with me?'

'Yes.'

Just like that, it was done.

His lips met mine finally. I ran my fingers into his hair as he kissed me, hard and intense, held onto him tight.

Nothing else mattered anymore. He needed me, I needed him, and we'd be everything to each other.

**Saturday morning**

'Well, here it is.'

Adam entered the small apartment behind the landlady, craning his neck into the dark room.

There was a tiny entrance hall with a coat cupboard. A kitchenette with a small fridge was directly on the left. The laminated counter separated it from the remainder of the room, which comprised the living room. An extremely faded green futon was the only furniture.

It smelled a little musty, but seemed clean enough.

'Yeah, it's kinda little. Nothing fancy. It gets good light, though...' Sandra the landlord opened the curtains wide. She was mid-thirties, with a lot of wavy red hair and a pleasant freckled face. She owned the little apartment in the small apartment block and had placed the ad herself.

Sandra had assumed that Adam Banks was a college student, and Adam Banks had not felt the need to correct her.

The room was suddenly flooded with pale sunlight, and Adam blinked as he glanced around. The brown carpet was a little old and worn but had been freshly cleaned, and Sandra showed him through to the one bedroom – a small double ensemble bed with no sheets, one built-in wardrobe, no window – and the tiny bathroom with shower.

__

_Tiny_ was the order of the day, apparently.

'Like I said, not fancy, but it's somewhere to lay your head, right? I lived here through my twenties, all the way through school. Are you looking just for you?'

'No. Ah, me and my girlfriend.'

'Oh, cool.' Sandra nodded. 'I'd rather have a couple in here. The last guys that lived here sorta had too many good nights and the neighbours all got pissed off and sent me letters and stuff. You guys aren't partiers, right?'

'No. Not at all.' Adam smiled, hands in pockets as he surveyed the little room.

It was tiny, but it was clean and sunny.

Most importantly, it was affordable.

'So... what do you think?' Sandra swung from side to side nervously.

'I love it.'

'Really?' the redhead smiled wide, pleasantly surprised. 'You like it? I always loved it, but everyone that looks at it now wants a new kitchen and carpet and stuff, I just can't afford that. I loved it, though! It has a nice honest vibe, right?'

'Very honest,' Adam hastened to agree. 'It's, uh... unpretentious.'

'It is, right? So you want in?'

'Yes, definitely.'

'Is your lady gonna come look, too?'

'She can't come right now, but I know she'll love it too.'

'Awesome! Let's do this, man. Furniture's included, but you need to look after it. No wrecking the bed, ok? Keep a lid on it...' Sandra laughed, waving her hand to show she was kidding, while Adam smiled politely as he willed himself not to blush. 'Um, I don't really do leases, but you guys need to pay your security deposit upfront, though. And then I'll need the first two weeks in advance, cool?'

'Can I pay more?'

'Huh?'

Adam set his wallet on the kitchen bench, flicking through the bills packed inside. 'Can I pay more in advance? Like...' he did a quick calculation. 'Two months?' he counted out the money and looked at Sandra.

'Um. Yeah!' the woman took his money quickly. She smiled wryly. 'Hey, you're not gonna deal any crack out of here or anything, right?'

Adam held up his hands quickly. 'No, I wasn't planning on it. I just... like to know my bills are paid.'

'Just checking. Hey, this is great.' Sandra beamed, shuffling the stack of bills through her fingers cheerfully. 'I like you guys already.'

**Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**GrownUp90's: Seriously, what would I do without your thoughtful reviews and kind words of encouragement? Probably quit writing this story, that's what. Thanks for all your support, you're the absolute best.  
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**Julie's POV**

Monday morning was crisp and more than a little cool. It felt like snow was on the way. I waited just outside the school's front entrance, hugging myself for warmth.

I'd missed seeing Adam on Sunday – he'd called to tell me that Charlie was being dragged on a 'stepfather-son' firewood collecting trip and he was begging Adam to tag along to make it somewhat more bearable. Charlie had grabbed the phone halfway through our conversation.

'Pleeeeeeease, Mrs Gaffney, can Adam come out to play? I promise I'll look after him and make sure he wears his gloves and his scarf, and he won't mess up his perfect hair, and-'

I heard a muted_ ooof_ and a long, resigned sigh as Adam came back on the line.

'Jules, save me. It's gonna be a long day.'

I was still giggling. 'You'll survive. Have fun!'

Where were they? I skipped on the spot lightly to keep warm. When I finally caught sight of Adam and Charlie loping across the grass with long strides, I jogged over to meet them happily. Charlie was talking amimatedly, and for some reason Adam looked relived when he saw me coming.

'Hey, Jul...' he greeted me with his adorable smile and his usual big hug. Usually that was the perfect start to my day, but today it wasn't quite enough.

I pulled him down to me and kissed him, lacing my fingers behind his neck, ignoring Charlie's groan of exaggerated disgust and mumblings about cooties.

When I finally released Adam, he grinned at me. 'What's the occasion?' he joked.

'Oh, nothing.' I shrugged casually. 'That's just how I say hi these days.' I laughed as Charlie suddenly appeared at Adam's side with a ready, expectant smile. We laughed, and Adam shoved him away.

'Take a hike, Conway.'

'I will. But only 'cause I was going this way anyway. Not because you told me to.' Charlie peeled away, waiting until he was a safe distance away to salute me and call out cheerily, 'And take it easy on him, Catlady. You're too young for kittens.' 

Adam calmly flipped him the bird in return. I just rolled my eyes. I had bigger fish to fry, and Charlie would keep.

'How's your day been so far?' I asked as we walked towards the school entrance as slowly as possible.

Adam smiled down at me. 'Incredible.'

'Really?' I smiled right back up at him. That sounded very promising.

'Yes, really.' He twirled me under his arm, and I laughed. He looked amazing, glowing with happiness. 'I got some delicious waffles for breakfast, I have the best girlfriend in the world, and... I have the best news in the world, too.'

I gasped, stopping dead. 'What? Tell me!'

I didn't bother asking if Adam had heard from his parents. I just knew that they hadn't contacted him, and he didn't need me to spoil his good mood by asking. Maybe they would soon.

Yeah, and maybe Portman would serenade him at lunch. Who knew?

Adam stopped too. He looked like he was considering drawing it out just to tease me, but he was clearly bursting with the news.

'I got a place!' he exclaimed, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

'What? No way! Where? How?' It had only been three days since our talk about his situation. And my promise to him. My heart started pounding.

He grinned, running his hand through his hair. 'It's 20 minutes from here, skating. It's a tiny little apartment I saw in the paper. I rang the landlord, she showed me through yesterday and... she said I could move in.' He shrugged, obviously amazed at how easy it had been.

'Oh my God. Really? I can't believe it.'

'I know. And don't worry, 'cause I paid for the first couple months already. And I'm going to find a job soon, I swear.' I knew he'd been dropping off his resume at every business in town, with no luck so far.

'Of course you will.' I squeezed his hand. 'Adam, this is so great. Wow.'

He smiled down, suddenly looking a little shy. 'So, I was wondering...'

'Yes?'

'Do you still want to come with me? I know it won't be easy to convince your dad, and-'

'Of course I want to come with you. Are you nuts? I want to come with you more than anything.' My heart was already sinking and I put off what I had to say for another moment. 'And... you're right. There's no way my dad's going to agree.'

His face fell. 'Yeah. I understand.'

My dad had not met Adam apart from his first visit with me to view Eden Hall years ago. And even then, I don't think they'd spoken more to each other than a polite hello. At the time, Adam was just another teammate. Although Dad knew that we were dating, I hadn't told him all the specifics about Adam being kicked out and moving in with Charlie's family. I thought it might raise uncomfortable questions. Dad did ask 'And how's Adam?' in an expressionless voice every time we talked on the phone.

My dad was just the best. He was loving, caring and supportive. He was wise, kind and dryly funny. He was rational and understanding. He trusted me. He was not, in a million years, going to agree to me moving out of the dorms and into an apartment with my boyfriend.

'Don't look like that. I'll figure something out, I promise. I can't wait to see it.'

Adam smiled a little, nodding, but his enthusiasm level had definitely dropped.

I made a quick decision. 'So, I guess you've had so much great stuff already, you don't need what I have for you in my bag?'

I think Adam was too excited about his new place, and worried about the likelihood of me joining him there to really care about anything else, but he tried to look curious anyway.

I undid my backpack and pulled a small wrapped parcel out, handing it to him. Adam frowned at me but he took the parcel and unwrapped the paper carefully.

Inside was a new cashmere sweater in a strong shade of blue. I knew Adam needed new clothes – he was well over six feet now and he'd been living out of the limited closet that his duffel bag supplied since the day he'd left home. He just wore the same four shirts on rotation. I'd checked the size carefully and I thought it would last him for a long time. It had been on sale, but still pricey, so I'd had it on layaway for a couple months. I waited anxiously.

He studied it, touching the soft, luxurious material. 'This... is exactly what I need. Thank you.' He smiled at me - I could see how pleased he was with the gift, and how much he was struggling not to tell me off for spending money on him. He cracked. 'But you shouldn't-'

'Shhh. Look inside,' I urged.

I'd hidden another, smaller gift inside the folds of the sweater. A small silver frame, with a photo Connie had given me from her latest set of prints. It was from one of our weekend street games, hanging out on the sidelines, a chain-link fence behind us. Adam, kissing my cheek with a smile, unaware of the photographer. Me, huge smile, eyes closed.

I loved the confident, happy smile on Adam's face, and I wanted Adam to see just how blissful I looked when he kissed me.

He looked at the photo for a long time, and pulled me close. I wrapped my arms around his waist tight. We were going to be late for class, and I couldn't bring myself to care. He rested his head on mine.

'You have to come with me,' he whispered finally.

I pulled back a little. 'I promised, didn't I?'

'Yes,' he admitted.

'Do I break my promises?'

He shook his head, and I stood on my toes to place a soft kiss on his lips.

'Happy birthday, Adam.'

**3pm**

After school, I had grand plans to take Adam out for a milkshake. A pretty humble celebration for his eighteenth birthday, but it was what I could afford, I was _not_ going to let him pay for anything today and despite his family's background – or maybe because of it – Adam always appreciated any gesture, regardless of how much it cost.

It was one of the characteristics that made him so easy to love.

We stopped by my dorm after school – well, snuck in would be a better description. I had a new dorm supervisor, Mrs. Langham and she wasn't nearly as tolerant of visitors as our old supervisor had been. It was inconvenient, to say the least.

But it was Adam's birthday, and we had to get a little privacy somehow.

I unlocked the door and we slipped inside quickly. I locked the door and dropped my bag, unzipping my jacket.

'Ok , let's-'

Without a word, Adam pushed me against the door and covered my mouth with his. He finished unzipping my jacket and slipped his warm hands in, pulling me to him. His kiss was yearning and intense, with that focus that made me feel like the centre of his universe.

_Wow. _

'Missed you,' he murmured, when he finally came up for air.

No shit. That was pretty clear. Although...

'We've been together most of today,' I pointed out.

He rolled his eyes at this idea. 'Yeah, surrounded by people,' he muttered, like nothing could be worse.

'Oh, come on.' I grinned at him. 'You poor thing. It's your birthday and everyone wants to see you.'

Adam had gotten the traditional Duck birthday gift of a loud and raucous chorus of Happy Birthday in the middle of the cafeteria. He'd buried his head in his arms and his neck turned bright red but I could tell he was smiling a little, much as he tried to hide it. 

He rested his lips on my forehead for a long moment. His body was warm, solid and inviting against mine.

_Focus, Julie._

'Ok,' I said finally. 'Let's think about this.'

He understood what I was talking about. We took seats on my bed, facing each other but far enough apart to avoid... distractions.

'We can ask Dad if I can move in with you,' I started.

'And he'll say no,' Adam replied immediately.

I shrugged helplessly. 'What would you say? In his position? To your teenage daughter?'

He smiled reluctantly, shaking his head. 'No,' he admitted.

'So how do we convince Dad that this is a good idea?'

We stared hopefully at each other. I bit my lip, willing an idea into existance. Nope.

'There's always option B,' Adam said finally.

I shook my head slowly, tracing a pattern on the bedspread. I'd thought about it, and there was no way it could end well. 'I can't just take off,' I started softly, apologetic. 'I couldn't do that to Dad.'

'No, of course not. But Jules...'

I looked up, surprised.

'You have two parents,' he reminded me gently.

I just stared at him for a long moment.

'You're right. There's – Mom could do it, too, she could give me permission to leave the campus.'

How could I not have thought of this sooner? Well, to start with, I had never asked my mom for permission to do anything in my life.

'I'll call her. I have to call her, it's our only real chance. I don't know if it's fair of me to just spring this on her...' I trailed off uncomfortably.

Adam looked at me like he really wanted to say something, but was holding back.

'What?'

He exhaled at length. 'I'm just wondering. How many times have you asked your mom for something, Jul?'

'Well-' I was surprised at the question. I searched my brain and couldn't come up with any immediate examples. 'I don't have that kind of relationship with her, you know that.'

He nodded slowly, but looked unconvinced. 'The kind where you're her daughter and you can ask her for help?'

I did not like where this was going. 'She's a good mom,' I replied evenly. 'It's just, Dad's always been, you know...'

Dad was my real family. Dad had always been the constant in my life. The one who knew instantly when something was wrong. The one who picked me up when I fell, looked after me when I was sick, the person who I would run to or ask for help.

Mom was a pleasant voice on a telephone. She sent me a check in a beautiful card on my birthday and at Christmas. She'd said once that it was better if I chose for myself.

Well, I had a choice to make now. I needed something desperately, and my mother was the only person who would consider providing it. Would she?

'What would she say?' Adam's voice broke through my silence, echoing my thoughts.

I met his worried eyes.

'She's going to say yes.'

Adam's whole face lit up. 'You think? Really?'

'I know it. I'm calling her.' I jumped off the bed. 'Wait here.'

**One half of a conversation**

  
>Once I'd strode out of my room with such purpose, I stood at the end of the hallway, staring at the pay phone like it might tell me what to do if I waited long enough.<p>

I picked up the phone. I put down the phone. I thought about what Adam had said, and what I needed to say now.

I felt sick and jittery with nerves. I took a long, steadying breath and dialled.

'Mom? Hi. It's Julie.'

'I'm good, thank you. Nothing's wrong. I just... couldn't wait til Wednesday night to talk to you.'

'I just wanted to ask you something.'

'Do you remember when I was eight years old?'

'Yeah, you were in Cincinnati when I was eight. I don't know if you ever knew this, but one day I was playing dodgeball with some friends, and I hit this kid with the ball and tripped him up, and he said I cheated.'

'My friend said to him, get over it, you're just pissed you got knocked down by a girl. Run home and tell your mommy if you don't like it. And he said 'at least I have a mom. Where's hers, huh?'

'My same friend, Taylor? He kept fighting the kids who teased me for playing hockey with the boys. He told me one day that I had to stand up for myself. So the next guy that picked on me, I punched him right in the nose.'

'This is who taught me to deal with bullies. A ten year old boy. This is the person who looked after me and taught me to stand up for myself.'

'Are you there?'

'Because I want you to know this, that's why. Where were you when I was eleven?'

'Yeah, I remember you telling me that you met Robert. You know what else happened that year? I got bronchitis.'

'Yeah, you remember. I had three weeks off school. Dad looked so tired because he was working as fast as he could all day so he could look after me, and he was awake all night listening to me cough. He moved the couch outside my bedroom so he could keep checking that I was breathing ok.'

'I needed you.'

'I did. I needed my mom to tell me how to stand up for myself. I needed my mom to look after me when I was sick. I needed you.'

'No, I'm not telling you this just to upset you. I'm telling you this because you should know. You should know how it affected me and Dad when you decided it was too much trouble to be my mother.'

'Yes, Mom. It _was_ like that.'

'I know that you tried. And if Dad said you couldn't come home, he had his reasons. But you never should have left me to grow up on my own.'

'I don't care if you're sorry.'

'No, I'm not your baby. Not anymore.'

'Because I'm calling to make you an offer. Stop crying, please. Listen to me.'

'Are you listening?'

'Good. This is my offer. Every single time that you weren't there for me. My first hockey game. Thanksgivings, Christmas, birthdays. All the days that you had better places to be. Every day that you let me down and left me alone.'

'I said don't cry. Are you listening?'

'Good. This is my offer. I will forgive you for every single moment you missed. I will let it go, and forget it all, and I'll come visit you and meet your family soon, and we'll never have to mention any of it ever again.'

'But I need you to do one thing for me now.'

**General POV**

Julie opened the door of her dorm room and silently crossed back to where Adam was perched nervously on her bed. Instead of speaking, she sat on the edge of the bed and buried her face in her hands.

'Julie, you ok?' Adam touched his girlfriend's shoulder, alarmed. 'Jules? Talk to me. What happened?'

She shook her head.

'I was so mean to her, I can't believe it.' Her voice came out monotone. 'I've never spoken to anyone like that.'

Portman came to her mind unbidden, and she banished the thought quickly.

In Adam's private opinion, Julie's absent mother had not shown her daughter any huge amount of consideration or kindness, and was not entitled to any from Julie either, but he kept his opinion to himself. 

'What did you say?' he asked instead, rubbing her shoulder gently.

Julie lifted her hands helplessly. 'I just started talking, and once I did, it all came out. Everything. I wanted some answers. I've always thought... it didn't bother me that she took off, that she was never around. But you know what? I guess it did. I was just ignoring it, it was... easier.' Adam nodded silently, and she shrugged. 'So I wanted to know if it actually bothered her, too. And, um...' she hesitated. 'I told her I would only forgive her for leaving us if she gave me permission to move in with you.'

Julie could barely believe the dramatic words as they came out of her mouth, it all sounded so surreal.

'Oh.' Adam's brows shot up. He waited for a long moment, but Julie had fallen silent. 'And what did she say?' he finally prompted.

'She said to fax the paperwork to her office.'

Adam froze. 'Really?'

Julie nodded. She looked up finally, and despite herself, a faint smile brightened her face. Adam was staring at her as though she was going to burst out laughing and yell 'psych!' as his blue eyes searched hers for confirmation.

'Really. She agreed. She said she'd sign it.'

Julie knew she had seriously upset her mother, shaken up her quiet afternoon and probably her whole life and their polite relationship to boot. It had cost her more than a little dignity and a little respect for herself to make that call.

But it had worked, and Adam was staring at her like she'd saved his life, and it was worth it.

'I – Jules, are you serious? Please tell me you're serious.'

'I'm serious. We're going. I'm coming with you.' 

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